Ignite
by hiddenflame268
Summary: When an experiment in space goes wrong, five people must face the consequences, both good and bad. What will happen to them as they try to adjust to the obstacles and strange, new powers? JohnnyXOC please read! Disclaimer:I do not own Fantastic 4!
1. Chapter 1

**Ignite**

_Chapter One: The Beginning of Forever_

_Scrtch Scrtch_

The sound of pencils gliding against sheets of paper filled the air as a pair of almost brown eyes fleeted around the room, making sure that all eyes were pasted to their own tests. A hand slowly raised itself into the air as a woman in a white blouse and dark jeans stood up, walking towards the desk in the corner of the rather large classroom. The heel of her black shoes clicked

"Um, Ms. Min?"

"What can I do for you?" Lily Min smiled down at her student as the boy looked up at her with a weak smile, his expression telling all.

"I'm really confused on how you're supposed to classify matter." Lily glanced down at the paper sitting before the boy and sighed, a frown on her face.

"You know, I can't actually _tell _you how to do it," she reminded him as little Eric shook his head. He gave the woman a small smile and sighed.

"Right." The twenty-two year old frowned at the sight of defeat in her student's eyes and thought for a moment. A gleam appeared in her eyes in a blink of a second as she began to walk away.

"But, if you want to maybe _glance_ at your study guide, for a minute only, my back _may _be turned." Eric's eyes brightened at the woman as she smiled back at him and winked. She turned and slowly began to walk back towards her desk, glancing at other student's to see the progress. She glanced back at Eric and saw his study guide gone and a confident expression now on his face. She smiled softly, feeling a bit relieved and sat back down at her desk.

Teaching at one of New York's most accomplished schools is something Lily really took pride in. She was only twenty-two, which said something about her skills as a teacher and in science. She was always ambitious when it came to what she loved doing and she was always confident in herself as well.

She smiled at the picture sitting on her desk and sat up, holding the frame in her hands. _'Man, do I miss you guys,' _she thought as she stared down at the picture of Susan, Reed, Ben, and herself. She softly chuckled as she set the picture back down on the desk. Because of the fact Lily has been so busy with teaching at the school, she hadn't been able to really keep up with meeting her favorite people, though they all lived only a matter of a half-hour car drive away from one another.

Lily closed her eyes as she leaned back against her chair and thought about her old life, back when she was just a mere child. She smiled at nothing in particular and sat back up, receiving a few finished tests. As she looked them over, her eyes widened, a loud vibrating noise filling the room. The students all looked up at their teacher as Lily smiled weakly back at them. She quickly pulled her phone from her pocket and smiled to herself, standing to her feet.

"Alright guys, I'm going to take this outside. If I catch any of you cheating, you know what will happen," she warned as the students nodded at her, turning their full attention back to the test. She walked out of the room, quickly flipping her cell phone open.

"Ben! How did the meeting go?" she asked, her heart beating like a stick against a drum. She waited, receiving nothing but silence from the other end of the phone. She frowned as she leaned against the wall.

"Ben?" She waited again, no answer, and glanced at the screen of her phone to see the connection perfect.

"Ben? What happened?" she asked almost a bit frantically. Suddenly laughter came from the other end of the line as Lily growled quietly, an irritated expression appearing on her face.

"Really, Ben? I was actually worried!" she snapped as Ben laughed more. He sighed as Lily smiled softly, shaking her head.

"Sorry, I just couldn't resist," he explained as the young woman chuckled softly, shaking her head.

"So really, how did the meeting go?"

"It went better than I thought it would," Ben started as Lily listened, glancing into the window of her classroom.

"Is the deal on?"

"Yeah, Mr. Egghead decided to take Reed's offer."

"That's great!" Lily said happily. She raised an eyebrow as she received not such a happy answer from Ben.

"Well, it's alright, I guess."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Lily asked, confusion audible in her voice. Ben sighed as his sister-figure listens carefully to him.

"Victor isn't the sweetest apple in the tree."

"A deaf and blind child could've told you that," the black haired girl replied as Ben released a hearty laugh. Lily smiled at the sound as she yawned slightly.

"And did I mention that Sue was there today?" This caught Lily off guard. She blinked a few times, not rushing to answer Ben. She frowned as she remembered hearing the news of Reed and Susan's break up. _'Those two really were good together.' _

"How was it?" Lily asked cautiously as she heard Ben release yet another sigh.

"Well, it definitely wasn't a fun experience," said Ben. Lily scowled to no one in particular as she paced from left to right, back and forth.

"But Reed handled it well, right?" she inquired.

"Yeah, but I swear, you could've cut the tension with a knife," Ben remarked as Lily smiled slightly. She reached to the back of her head, scratching it slightly.

"I guess that's to be expected," the teacher commented, causing Ben to raise an eyebrow.

"What're you talkin' about?" he asked as Lily chuckled.

"Don't you worry about that, Ben! Anyways, what's the plan now?"

"We go to space." A smirk appeared on Lily's face as she stood up straight.

"Then space, here we come."

* * *

"Wait, so Ben isn't piloting the space shuttle?" A confused expression etched itself on to Lily's face as she climbed out of her black convertible. A yawn escaped her lips as she stretched, the long car ride officially over with. She glanced around, taking in the dry scenery around her. She stood in the middle of a deserted area, with the exception of "egg-head's" (as Ben would say) shuttle center.

"No, it would seem as though Victor already has a pilot."

"How's Ben taking it?" she asked with a hint of laughter in her voice as her superior took a moment to pause before answering.

"..He's…taking it better than I expected." This caused Lily to laugh out loud as she grabbed her bag from the back seat of her car. She held her phone up to her ear with one hand as she closed the top of her car with the other.

"Well, if Ben's not piloting, who is?" Again, a pause was taken, an uncomfortable feeling rising in the woman's gut.

"Reed, who's piloting?" she asked once more.

"It's-oh! I think I see you." Lily looked up and a grin appeared on her face as she saw a familiar patch of black hair. She dropped her bag and swiftly flipped her phone shut, shoving it into her pocket.

"Reed!" She sprinted towards the man as he smiled at her with his usual calm expression. She jumped into his arms as he held her tight, his arms wrapped around her protectively.

"It's been awhile, hasn't it?" the scientist stated as Lily laughed and nodded her head.

"It really has." After the two took a short few minutes to catch up with one another, they headed inside Victor's private space center.

"So, where's Ben?" Lily asked, forgetting her other question with ease. Reed looked back at her as they continued down the hall, passing many workers with white lab coats on.

"He's in the men's changing room," Reed explained as Lily nodded her head. Her mentor showed her all the important rooms before leading her to the girl's changing room.

"I think you can handle it from here." Lily chuckled as Reed smiled at her. She nodded her head and watched as he made his way down the hall, turning and disappearing. She took a deep breath and walked into the changing room. She took a careful look around, noticing every detail of the room. She set her bag down on the chair to her right and scratched the back of her head. Before she could do anything else, a new voice rang in her ears.

"Lily?" Said woman raised an eyebrow as she heard her name being called. She turned to face the new comer but her eyes widened as she saw a very familiar face.

"Susan!" An ecstatic grin appeared on Lily's face as she saw Susan Storm standing in front of her. The woman still looked as pretty as she remembered her being. Her blonde hair was still bright, of course not _too _bright, and her blue eyes shined in the light, almost catching Lily off guard.

"It really is you!" Susan laughed as she opened her arms and welcomed the long awaited hug. Lily held her best friend tightly as the two women shared a chuckle. After releasing each other from the tight hold, Susan held Lily by the shoulders, making sure to see every detail of the now grown up girl.

"Wow! It feels like it's been years since I've seen you," the blonde commented as Lily nodded her head. She smiled up at her previous babysitter and felt the nervousness slowly seep away from her body.

"How have you been?" Lily asked as she and Susan both sat down, taking a few moments to catch up with one another.

"I've been good. Victor's been keeping me busy with work, but everything's alright." At the sound of Lily's least favorite person's name, she resisted the urge to vomit and nodded her head. She hesitated, but decided to test the waters, her curiosity getting the best of her.

"And how is it with Reed?" This caused Susan's demeanor to crack slightly. She frowned at the name as Lily took notice and checked that into her brain.

"It's fine, I don't' know why it wouldn't be." The younger woman tried to make sure that she didn't roll her eyes. Susan tore her eyes away from Lily's piercing gaze, making the her sigh.

"Honestly?" Susan looked up, Lily's eyes asking for the truth. Finally, the blonde woman shook her head, rubbing her temples.

"You know, I didn't end things with Reed because I didn't…" She trailed off as Lily nodded her head, understanding her "older sister" completely. "But, I'm telling you, the only thing that runs through that man's head is science! Equations and variables, it was like I just couldn't…" She trailed off once more, trying to figure out the right word for her emotions. Her friend thought along with her, and finally came up with a possible answer.

"It was like you just couldn't compete?" Susan nodded, relieved that she knew at least one person who understood her feelings. Lily sighed as she leaned back against her chair, shaking her head.

"You know how Reed gets. He's more of a…think first, act later, type of person."

"I know, but I couldn't wait forever, I was ready to take the next step and he wasn't," Susan pointed out as Lily sighed and nodded. Her friend did have a point, a woman could only wait so long before taking a deep relationship to the next level.

Love is something that is very close to one's heart, and if the person that they want to move forward with is stuck in the same place forever, what is someone to do? How long can a person wait before realizing just how short forever _really _is? And if the person they love isn't on the same page as them, do they really love them at all? Or are the two just not meant to be together? These questions are always able to just throw people around and confuse them to no end.

Lily stood up, glancing at the time, and smiled down at her friend.

"You ready to go, boss?" Susan shook her head as she chuckled and stood to her feet, nodding her head in response.

"Alright then, ready to gear me up?"


	2. Chapter 2

**Ignite**

_Chapter Two: A Reunion to remember_

"Um…Sue?"

Said woman looked over at her companion and raised an eyebrow. "What is it?"

"…Not to be..._rude _or anything, but is this _thing _really necessary to wear?" Susan laughed as Lily's expression showed nothing but pure disgust and dread. She walked over to the younger woman, already in her own suit, and gave Lily's shoulder a soft squeeze.

"Trust me, I wouldn't make you wear it if it wasn't necessary," she stated as Lily sighed, nodding her head.

"I was afraid you'd say that." Susan chuckled as she pulled her hair up and examined herself in the mirror, making sure that everything seemed to be in place. As Lily pulled her clothes off, her forgotten question popped into her head. She'd have to scold Reed later for purposely making her forget.

"Hey, Sue?"

"What is it?"

Lily slipped the navy blue suit on, zipping it until it reached the upper part of her sternum, and sighed to herself. She flipped her hair over her shoulder and approached Susan with a frown on her face. She stood in front of the mirror and shook her head. "Somewhere, a child is suffering," said the 22 year old. Susan rolled her eyes with a smile on her face. Lily moved around in the suit and shrugged.

"Well, at least it's comfortable," she commented as Susan nodded her head. She walked over to the desk in the room, and picked up two jackets sitting patiently and quietly. Lily looked at Susan with confusion as she pointed to the articles of clothing.

"What's-"

"They're Ben and Reed's," Susan explained as Lily nodded her head, her question now fresh in her mind.

"I forgot to ask, but, who's piloting the shuttle if Ben isn't?" she finally asked as the two women walked out of the changing room. Lily followed Susan, having no idea where they were heading. Susan looked back at her friend with a confused look on her face.

"Reed didn't tell you?" she asked as Lily shook her head.

"He forgot to mention," she stated dryly as Susan didn't bother asking. She turned left, Lily following close behind, and glanced at the clock hanging on the wall.

"He should actually be here by now, but knowing him, he'll probably be late." This further confused Lily. She was dying to know the pilot for their rather important mission.

"Who is it? And where are we going, by the way?"

"The boy's changing room, and you know him really well."

"I do?" This seemed to drag Lily further into confusion and curiosity. She needed to know or else she would throw a fit.

"Yes, it's-" The two stopped their conversation as a voice, with an almost New York accent, filled the air.

"I can handle this ship, I can even handle Little Mister Blond Ambition, but I don't know whether I should be flyin' or doin' 'Swan Lake' in these suits." Ben stared down at the dark blue space suit and grimaced at the sight. He looked from his best friend, Reed, to the youthful man sitting in front of him. "I mean, who the hell came up with these?"

"Victor did." All three men looked up at the sound of Susan's voice as she walked into the room. Ben glanced at Johnny as the younger brother of Susan glanced right back at him, both then turning their attention to Reed for a short moment; how would Reed handle Susan's presence this time?

Before she could go on with her explanation, another voice filled the air, catching the three men off guard. "Sue! Way to just leave me behind, I told you I dropped my…bag.." Lily trailed off as she noticed everyone's eyes on her. She smiled at Ben and Reed, not noticing the new face in the crowd.

"What?" she asked curiously as Susan glanced at her brother to see his eyes wide open.

"That's right, you wanted to know who the pilot was, right?" Before Susan said anything, hazel eyes met with blue eyes. The three adults watched with curiosity as they studied the two "youngsters" react to one another.

"…Are you.."

"…Lily?" At the sound of his voice, Lily immediately knew exactly who she was talking to.

"Johnny Storm," Lily said as the now grown up boy stood to his feet.

"Lily Min, I knew it was your from the second you walked in," Johnny stated as he smiled widely at his childhood friend. Lily rolled her eyes as she tried not to smile, but she just couldn't resist the urge. The three adults smiled slightly at the sight of two old friends reuniting and glanced at each other, their eyes having their own conversation.

"Why is that so hard to believe?" Johnny wrapped his arms around the woman's small frame as Lily couldn't help but laugh, wrapping her own arms around her, secretly, closest friend. She turned her head up to get a better look at him and frowned slightly.

"When did you get so tall?" she asked, mostly to herself. Johnny laughed slightly as he shook his head, releasing the girl from his hold, and patted her head, condescendingly. She twitched as he smirked at her.

"I've _always_ been tall."

"Just like you've always been an idiot?" Ben held his laughter as Johnny rolled his eyes and took his seat back on the couch. He ignored Lily's comment and the two already knew, this mission was going to be a bumpy ride.

"Now that the happy reunion's finally over, what's the deal with…_this_?" Ben asked, not really able to find the right word for the suit. Susan chuckled as she shook her head.

"The synthetics act as a second skin, adapting to your body's individual needs," she explained as she smiled at Ben. The bald man smiled back as Johnny decided to take the floor.

"See, that means it keeps the hot stuff hot, and the cool stuff cool." Ben gave the younger man a quick glare before turning his attention back to Susan. Reed quickly stood to his feet and approached the woman, his eyes glued to her body.

"Wow, fantastic!" Reed almost whispered. Susan couldn't help but smile as her heart fluttered at the fact Reed was actually admiring her. Johnny, Ben, and Lily all shared a quick glance as they watched the scene play out before them; they were curious as to how this was going to turn out.

"Material made from self-regulating, unstable molecules." Then again, sometimes hopes can be crushed.

"I've been working on a formula for this," Reed said as the four other people in the room shared a defeated look. Susan closed her eyes for a moment before regaining her composure and pushed the embarrassed and disappointed feeling away.

"Great minds think alike," she stated, almost sardonically, as Lily shook her head. Ignoring the now infatuated Reed, Susan turned to Ben and smiled sweetly at him. He smiled back at her, his eyes apologizing for the clueless scientist's behavior.

"Here you go, Ben." She handed him his jacket as she turned to face Reed, her smile gone.

"Reed." Said scientist's eyes widened slightly as he looked and found a jacket tossed in his face. He blinked a few times as Susan walked out of the room, feeling more bitter towards the oblivious man than before. Johnny stood to his feet as the three friends shared a glance. Reed then turned his attention to his team mates as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"Was it something I said?"


	3. Chapter 3

Hey everyone! I'm really glad that people have liked this so far! It's my first story so I'm excited to get the good news I've been getting! Thanks for the comments and such! I'll be sure to do my best for the next stories to come!

Disclaimer: I don't own Fantastic Four or anything like that!

* * *

**Ignite**

_Chapter Three: Mission Gone Wrong_

The trip into space had been a safe one, and surprisingly enough, it was thanks to Johnny. Lily glanced at the boy as she watched him press buttons, his eyes glued to the screen. Her eyes stayed glued to him as he began the countdown until the ship was locked to the space center. _'It's almost as if he's actually grown a few brain cells in the last couple of years.' _She quickly tore her eyes away from Johnny, too afraid that if she stared too long he would catch her and get the wrong idea.

She stared out the small window of the space shuttle and took a moment to collect her thoughts. Through the reflection of the window she could see Johnny, his face a bit more serious than when she had first run into him on Earth. She continued to gaze at him and took the time to really look at him.

He had grown up a lot since they were kids, that was one thing Lily was certain about. His muscles were toned, perfectly, and his face had matured, sculpted by the hands of fate to make him more than easy on the eyes. His eyes shined brightly than they did when they were children, though during their adolescence, his eyes did give off a similar gleam.

Suddenly, a jerk from the space shuttle snapped Lily from her trance as she looked around and found the ship now locked to Victor's space center. Johnny smirked as he stood up and leaned against his chair.

"Thank you for flying with us, hope you enjoyed the ride," he said playfully, imitating a flight attendant on a plane, as Lily rolled her eyes and smiled slightly.

'_He's still the same Johnny from when we were kids.' _Lily unbuckled her seatbelt and stood to her feet, getting used to the idea of actually being in space. As everyone walked on to Victors "space headquarters" their eyes roamed around, the environment around them completely new. Victor led the way, his _employees _following after him. Johnny and Ben walked side by side and as they made their way towards the control room of the floating ship, Johnny glanced at Ben.

"If you're good, next time Daddy'll let you drive," Johnny playfully said as Ben tried his best not to knock the kid back a few years.

"Keep talkin' and there won't **be **a next time," Ben retorted back as Johnny chuckled slightly. Lily watched from behind as she shook her head. As she walked down the hall, she glanced out the window, the bright stars almost taking her breath away. She smiled slightly, not noticing a pair of blue eyes gazing back at her for a short second.

Reed kept his pace up with the others but slowly came to a stop as his eyes landed on the Earth, floating a distance away. He can't help but feel slightly a peace with himself, and yet nervous at the same time. Seeing as it was his first trip into space, it was only expected of him to feel this way.

"Long way from the projection booth at the Hayden Planetarium, isn't it?"

Reed quickly turned his head to his left to see Susan giving him a soft and reassuring smile. She started after the others, not looking back, as Reed stared for one last moment before smiling to himself. "Yes…Yes it is."

* * *

"We can monitor the cloud's approach and observe the tests from here." As the six crew members walked into the monitoring room, Susan gave a quick explanation of the room and began to jump right into work. Victor smirked as he watched _his _woman make her way towards the screens. He glanced to his right and watched as Lily began to write down data, making sure that everything was set to go.

"Is it safe?" Victor looked over as he heard Ben speak up.

"The shield is on, we should be fine." Seeing an open shot, Victor smirked and decided to go for it.

"_Should_?"

"What's the matter, Ben?" Reed and Ben both looked over as they watched Victor approach the two with long strides. He smirked at the bald man that sent a small wave of anger through Ben's blood. "Don't tell me you're getting paranoid in your _old _age," Victor stated. Ben looked at Victor, his eyes asking if he really wanted to get into it.

Before anything could happen, Reed saw it fit that he should intervene before a real fight broke out. He quickly walked up in between Victor and Ben and decided to get straight to the point.

"We should probably start unloading the samples now," the raven haired man stated, more to Ben. His best friend stared up at Reed and the two silently spoke through their eyes. Ben nodded his head and started to walk towards the suitcase sitting on the ground, against the wall. Of course, Victor couldn't have that? End a conversation with Ben, or Reed for that matter, peacefully? No, that wasn't any fun at all.

"I see you're still doing all the heavy lifting." Both Reed and Ben quietly sighed to themselves. They had been hoping that Victor would just let them go. Of course, they both knew that was just wishful thinking.

"You should have just stayed in the lab. Field work never really…_suited _you."

"He does the talkin' and I do the walkin'. Got it?" Ben asked, or more demanded. Victor shrugged carelessly. He straightened his back, and smiled fakely towards the two men.

"Actually, if you'll all excuse me, I need to have a word with Susie." That caught everyone's attention, Susan's the most. Her heart skipped a beat, in a negative way, as she looked up at Victor. Johnny and Lily both shared a glance before heading out the door. Reed and Ben tried their best to hide their dissatisfaction and nodded their heads.

"Sure," said Reed as he glanced at Susan for a quick second. He headed out the door, after the three others, and didn't bother looking back, afraid that if he did, he would lose all of his self-control and just burst.

Lily slowed her pace as she waited for Reed to catch up to her. She smiled softly at him as he gave her a rather defeated looking smile and nod. She frowned and wrapped her arm around his shoulders.

"So, what do you want us to do, boss?" Reed's expression lifted slightly as she winked at the man. He nodded his head and regained his composure quickly.

"You and Johnny help Ben gear up and get ready to go out and get the samples ready," he decided. Lily nodded her head as she turned to Ben and patted his back.

"You ready, Big Guy?" He smirked at her and wrapped his arm around her shoulders as she wrapped her own around his torso.

"Who do you think you're talkin' to?" Lily chuckled as the two made their way down the hall, a third now added to the party.

"She just wants to make sure _whittle Benji _isn't too scared for his first steps into the big world." The comfortable moment was easily ruined by a playful voice, a sigh escaping both Ben and Lily's lips. "Or should I say, big universe."

Lily shook her head as she refused to chuckle at his joke. That would only make his ego grow, and she really didn't want to fan the flame.

"You're lucky there's a lady here, kid, or else I'd show you who would be scared of what," Ben threatened as Johnny smirked. Lily already knew what was coming to her.

"A lady? Hm, interesting, because I don't see a lady," Johnny stated mockingly. Lily stopped walking and immediately her blood began to boil.

'_So it's starting, is it?' _Lily closed her eyes for a moment, composing herself as both Johnny and Ben waited for her reaction.

Though it had been years since the two had last seen or even spoken to each other, Johnny still remembered all the best ways to get under Lily's skin. Back in the day, that was his favorite source of entertainment, watching Lily boil up and try to lash out against him. Her reactions never failed to amuse him, even now.

"Come on, Ben," Lily calmly called out, throwing both, Ben and Johnny, off. The hazel-eyed woman smiled sweetly at them as she began to walk towards Ben. She gently grabbed his arm and smiled a bit more at him. Suddenly, Ben's question was answered as he heard a pain-filled groan from Johnny. He looked over at the pilot and smirked as he saw him holding his foot in pain, using the wall to keep his balance.

"Oh, I'm sorry! Did I do that?" Lily smiled innocently at Johnny as he winced, looking up at Lily with an already tired expression. "How _unlady-like _of me, oh wait. I'm **not **a lady," she pointed out as she smirked. "So, I guess I really don't have to feel that bad."

Ben laughed to his heart's content as the two turned and began to head towards the gear room. Lily released Ben's arm as he looked back at her with a raised eyebrow. She smiled sweetly back at Johnny as he holds his foot, his toe throbbing with pain.

"Lets go!"

* * *

Lily opened the silver suitcase and smiled as she saw a few tubes filled with flowers. She pulled the flower case out of the silver box and held it as she turned and watched Johnny help Ben into the space suit.

"Please don't tell me your guy is trying to rekindle things with my sister." Ben and Lily shared a quick glance before the oldest in the room shook his head.

"Of course not, it's strictly business," he clarified. Lily sighed as she shook her head and leaned back against the wall.

She did pity Reed and Susan, both. The two were perfect for each other, yet they just couldn't click. It was almost tragic, the relationship between the two. Of course, there was nothing Lily or anyone could do for them. The problems between Reed and Susan were strictly between Reed and Susan, and no matter what anyone else could say, the only people that could really help the two, was themselves.

"Two hearts got busted last time, maybe she's not over it either." Lily snapped out of her thoughts as she heard the sound of Ben's voice radiate through her ears. She glanced at Johnny, already awaiting for his rude and annoying remark.

"Wow, Dr. Phil. That's deep," Johnny said sarcastically. Lily rolled her eyes as she shook her head, listening as her peer compared the two men.

"You've got Victor: more money than god, stud of the year. And then you got Reed: the world's dumbest smart guy, worth less than a postage stamp. That's a _real _toss up."

"Don't trouble your tiny little mind," Ben retorted back as he gave up on changing the boy's mind.

Lily rolled her eyes as she walked over to Ben and lightly shoved Johnny to the side. He rolled his eyes at her and took a few steps back, giving the woman a bit of space. She clipped the cased flowers to the utility belt on Ben's space suit and handed it to him. He took it willingly as she smiled at him.

"Don't wander off now, boy." Lily sighed as she heard Johnny's playful remark. She smiled as Ben shook his head but smiled back. Johnny gave Ben's shoulder a slight squeeze signifying the fact that deep down inside, he did care about the man's well-being, even if sometimes it did seem like he didn't care at all. The two watched as the clear, glass door slid shut, and Ben turned to face the two. Johnny saluted and Ben returned the gesture with a thumb's up. Johnny gave him two thumb's up and Lily smiled, giving Ben a small wave.

As the two watched Ben stare out into space, they couldn't help but get sucked into it's beauty as well. It was nothing like they had ever seen before. Seeing the galaxy from earth was one thing, but being actually _in _space was another. Everything was surreal and so serene. It brought this sense of tranquility to the two youngsters of the group, something they could never truly experience on Earth, and nothing they'd ever really experience again.

The two finally tore their eyes away from the sight and began to monitor Ben, making sure that he didn't get into any trouble. They sat in silence, not an awkward silence, but silence nonetheless. Johnny glanced over at his now grown friend, and without even noticing, he began to stare as she wrote in her notebook.

She was now much taller than she was when they were kids, although her height didn't compare with his. She was probably about seven inches shorter than him, but shockingly enough, her height contrasted against her actual strength. Her hair was still as dark as a moonless night, and her eyes had actually becoming lighter since the last time he had seen her, then again, he could have been wrong.

He quickly looked away as Lily stood to her feet and walked over to the controls, making sure Ben was holding up well. She glanced at Johnny, noticing his unusual silence, and raised an eyebrow as she turned her full attention to him.

"You're awfully quiet, or is that a new trait you happen to gain when we stopped talking?" Johnny almost found the statement insulting, but shrugged the comment off, walking towards her. She watched him as he approached her and stopped dangerously close to her. He smirked down at her as she looked back at him, not phased by the distances what's so ever. This was a trait Johnny also liked about her. Lily was always up for a challenge and loved to do anything that had to do with being outside. She never backed down from a fight and she was definitely not afraid to go against all odds.

The dirty blond smirked and stepped away from Lily, leaning back against the wall. She raised an eyebrow at his strange behavior but didn't think much of it, turning her attention back to her work. He watched her and then suddenly, without thinking, he spoke out.

"If I didn't tell you before, you grew up nicely." This surprised Lily. She turned her attention back to Johnny as he smirked at her. She rolled her eyes as she turned her back to the distraction.

"And I see you grew up into an even _bigger _pig, why am I not surprised?"

Johnny frowned, feigning sadness as he walks up beside her. "Now that hurts."

Lily chuckled slightly as he smiled at her and for a moment, the two just stared at each other, content with the situation around them.

"But really, on a serious note, you look good." Lily heard it in his voice, the sincerity. Though it was such a normal and honestly, meaningless statement, the way Johnny had said it made all the difference. She smiled at him and nodded her head.

"You aren't bad, yourself." They shared a long gaze and somehow, the two end up a bit closer than before without even noticing. Johnny smirked at her as she quietly chuckled.

The moment was ruined as the sound of Reed's voice broke through the air. She quickly backed away and bumped into a table, her hand knocking over a water bottle Ben had been drinking out of before he suited up for space. Johnny glanced at her before turning his full attention to a very frantic Reed.

"What's the problem?" Johnny asked as Lily quickly wiped the water as best as she could with her hands, wiping some on to her suit.

"Get Ben back in here, now!"

"What's happening, Reed?" Lily asked, noticing the fear in Reed's voice.

"Ben, you need to get back into the shuttle, NOW!" Reed repeated.

"I'm not done arrangin' your flowers, Egghead," the three heard Ben state. Reed shook his head, looking out the window.

"Ben, turn around." Everyone's eyes widened at the sight of the cosmic radiation storm that had decided to arrive earlier than they had thought. Lily stared with shock and fear as she placed her hand on the window. _'Oh my god.' _

Ben stared, fear enveloping his body. He looks back at the shuttle window to see his three friends staring at him.

"Ben! Get back in here, now!" Lily snapped as Ben turned to them as fast as he could, the distance a discouraging sight to him.

"I won't be able to make it," he stated, the three glancing at each other. Johnny looked out at Ben and then back at the storm and shook his head.

"You have to jump, Ben! That's the only way!" The three watched helplessly as Ben gave a final prayer and leaped through space. The cosmic storm followed closely behind him, but he didn't dare look back.

"Come on, Ben." Lily bit her lip as she locked her hands together and watched, not able to tear her eyes from the man.

"You got it, Ben!" Johnny shouted. He couldn't tell whether he was saying it because he truly believed Ben could make it, or because he was trying to convince himself that it was true. Either way, it didn't matter at that moment.

"Get ready to close the portal," Reed demanded as he reached for Johnny's shoulder. The teen nodded and quickly ran over to the controls, watching and praying for his friend's safety. Lily closed her eyes and shielded them from everything going on around them. She took a few steps back and Reed glanced back at her, wanting to reassure her that everything would be ok. Before he could possibly do anything, everyone watched with horror as Ben was slammed into the storm, the force of the collision sending him right through the portal before it closed. Reed stared with shock as Ben slammed into the glass, his eyes wide. Lily's hand covered her mouth as she quietly gasped. The storm hit the shuttle head on and as everything trembled around them, fear grew more and more.

Without a second's notice, the storm broke through the portal, hitting everyone. Reed stumbled back as he shouted in pain, using the wall to try and stay on his feet. Lily stared, as if she was a deer staring at headlights, and shouted in utter pain. It was nothing like she had felt before. She fell to her knees as she began to shiver.

Johnny's eyes widened as he tried to run over to Reed and Lily, but as he did, the force of the cosmic storm hit him as well. He began to fly back, his body feeling excruciating pain, as if it was on fire.

'_I have to get to the others!' _Susan ran as fast as she could, straight to danger, and tried her best not to stumble back from the pressure. She came to a sudden halt as she saw this gas like red substance. Her eyes widened at the sight, but before she could react, she was hit, full on, and this strange sensation first ran through her body, then the pain came to life. She tried to fight against the feelings but couldn't seem to make herself do so.

Everyone tried to keep consciousness, but slowly and surely, one-by-one, they began to fall. As Reed's eyes began to slowly shut, he began to regret the words he had told Ben back on Earth.

"_What's the worst that can happen?"_


	4. Chapter 4

Hey! Thank you again for the great reviews! I'm really relieved that this story is turning out well so far! If you have anything to suggest or say please, don't hesitate to let me know!

I do plan on getting a Kakashi story out very soon so be on the look out for that if there are any Kakashi fans reading this!

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Fantastic Four or any of the characters, I wish though!

* * *

**Ignite**

_Chapter Four: Home sweet home_

The sound of someone working with some sort of metal filled the air as soft voices whispered amongst themselves. Blue eyes began to flutter open to the sound of the unintentional wake up call.

'_Ugh, my head.' _

"Ah, Mr. Storm," Johnny slowly looked up, to see a man in his mid-forties, tending to him, making sure that all his vitals were stable. Johnny shook his head as he tried to remember the past events that brought him to wherever is was.

"Don't worry, you'll be able to get on your feet in no time," said the doctor. Johnny glanced around the room and tried to figure out the puzzle.

'_It's way to nice to be an actual hospital room, and I'm definitely not on that space shuttle."_

"This is Mr. Doom's personal health center," the doctor explained, as if reading Johnny's mind. The young man just nodded his head, not really able to do anything else. The pain was very much gone, but there was still a hint of an ache and his head was still spinning, slightly.

Suddenly, the memories of the past events came rushing back to Johnny, and his eyes widened at the thought. He quickly shoved the blankets off of his body, feeling hotter than he should have, and tried to stand to his feet, only to have the doctor push him back down.

"My sister! Ben and Lily! Reed, what happened to them?" he asked, his voice hinting at the panic he was unexpectedly feeling. The doctor gave him a reassuring smile and Johnny slowly began to make himself relax. He sat back down on the bed, the short adrenaline rush over with and his body feeling a bit more tired than before.

"Don't worry. Mr. Richards should be waking up at any moment. As for Ms. Storm and Mr. Grim, they should be waking up soon as well." Johnny slowly began to smile at the great news, but stopped, after realizing one name had been left out of the equation.

"What about Lily?" he asked as the doctor quickly turned and began to write down Johnny's current state. Ignoring the boy was not a wise choice for the doctor. In a split second, Johnny was on his feet, a hand holding the collar of his shirt, tightly.

"I asked you a question," he slightly snapped. The doctor couldn't believe it; it was as if Johnny's body temperature was increasing rapidly. The doctor sighed and calmly put his hand on Johnny's, causing the boy to slowly relax and release him.

"Ms. Min is fine, but we aren't quite sure when she will be coming around." Before Johnny could say anything, the door to the room opened and in came a nurse, a clipboard held tightly in her hand.

"Sir, it looks like Mr. Richards is waking up." The man nodded and turned his attention back to Johnny.

"You should stay in bed for an hour or so, but after that, you can roam around as you'd like," he clarified as Johnny frowned. An hour could be a long time when it came to certain things, and he had a feeling that this hour was going to go by terribly slow. Before Johnny could possibly reject the idea, the doctor motioned towards the nurse, who finally caught the man's eyes, and smirked at him.

"If you have any problems, our nurse will be sure to tend to them," the doctor stated, before walking out of the room. Johnny suddenly found his previous fear replaced with slight excitement. He gave the nurse a smirk as she shook her head and smirked back at him.

_'I guess an hour's not too long.'_

Time quickly went by, and soon Johnny's hour of detainment was up. He gave the nurse one last smirk before heading out of the room and down the hall. He glanced around, examining his surroundings and chuckled slightly, shaking his head. '_I wasn't wrong when I said Victor had more money than a god.' _

As he walked down the halls, he stopped, backtracking slightly, and stared at the name plate on the door. He carefully walked in, making sure to keep the noise level down, and stared solemnly at his older friend. Back on the space craft, he hadn't thought about the actual concept of there being any problems, and when Ben had been caught in the middle of the danger, he couldn't really register the whole situation. He shook his head, feeling a bit ashamed of himself for a moment. The moment quickly passed though, the sound of a groan filling the air. His heart lifted as he watched Ben's eyes open. He quickly went to Ben's side, the man's eyes now fully opened and blinking.

"Hey, rise and shine, big boy," Johnny said, the tone in his voice more serious than usual. Though he had felt bad about his behavior towards Ben on the space ship, everything seemed well, so why not have some fun?

"How you feeling?"

"Where am I?"

"Back on Earth. We're in quarantine, Victor's medical facility," Johnny explained, the urge to smirk so tempting.

"What about Reed, Sue, and Lily?" Ben asked as Johnny nodded his head reassuringly.

"They're fine…everybody else is fine," Johnny commented, the last part of his statement more quiet than the beginning. This caused Ben to slowly panic, the look on Johnny's face not making him feel any better.

"..What's wrong with me?" he asked as Johnny took a deep breath.

"I swear to you, Ben. They've done everything humanly possible, the best plastic surgeons were here, Ben. You had the best," Johnny stated as Ben's heart skipped a beat. He quickly sat up, glanced at the bed stand, and reached for the hand-held mirror sitting on it's lonesome.

"Give me that mirror," Ben demanded as Johnny quickly beat him to the chase, grabbing the mirror before his friend could.

"I don't know if that's...a good idea. They said the shock alone-"

"I said, give me that GOD DAMNED MIRROR!" Ben snatched the mirror from Johnny's hands and the boy gave a defeated sigh, shaking his head.

"Just, be strong," Ben slowly raised the mirror to his face, the fear inside of him welling up uncontrollably. Finally, he took a good look at his face and found it perfectly normal. _'What the..' _

Johnny smirked to himself, already halfway to the door, and clapped his hands together in order to gain Ben's attention. "Unfortunately, the doctor's said they couldn't do anything about your face." This brought Ben's blood to a complete boil. Seeing the intent to kill in Ben's eyes, Johnny quickly headed out the door, laughing, as Ben chucked the mirror, shattering it into little pieces. Ben laid his head back down against the pillow and closed his eyes.

"That damn kid."

Johnny couldn't help but feel proud of his work. He headed the down the hall, deciding to find something more entertaining, and opened the door, only to almost run into Reed. He smiled at the man and gave his shoulder a pat.

"Hey," he said as he began to walk away. Before he took another step, he stopped, peering back at Reed's hair.

"I like the do," Johnny playfully commented, a confused expression appearing on the scientist's face. "I'm liking the grandpa look."

Reed watched as Johnny walked away without a second glance, and quickly searched for anything that would give him his reflection. He turned to the glass on the wall and examined his hair, a gray streak on his sideburns. "..What the.."

* * *

A content expression sat on Johnny's face as he walked through the facility, already receiving a few numbers from the female nurses in the building. He smirked to himself and shook his head as he began to walk past a room at the end of the hall. He stopped and glanced at the name. His eyes widened as his previous concerns came rushing back. He quickly opened the door and rushed inside only to stop himself from running into another nurse.

"Excuse me," she said quietly as she walked out, closing the door behind herself. Locking her face into his memory, Johnny turned his attention back to the room and looked around, a very familiar face meeting his gaze. He slowly stepped towards the limp body laying in the hospital bed and frowned at the sight of his childhood friend. She looked more pale than before and it looked like she hadn't eaten in a few days. He pulled a stool up to her bedside and sat down, staring at her face for a moment.

"…C'mon, Lily," Johnny mumbled as he waited, both patiently and impatiently, for the girl to open her eyes. Time slowly went by, the minutes feeling like hours and the hours feeling almost like years. Johnny glanced at the time and groaned slightly. _'It's only been a half-hour?' _He scratched the back of his head, not sure whether to stay a bit longer or come back later, for another visit.

As he stood up to leave, a quiet and exhausted voice filled the air, making his ears perk up. A groan resonated through his head and a wave of relief ran through his entire body. He quickly span around and a wide smile appeared on his face, Lily's hazel eyes able to take in her surroundings.

'_Where am I? And what the hell happened?' _

"Lilly?" Said woman raised an eyebrow at the sound of her name and looked up to see a very happy Johnny looking down at her. She slowly sat up, Johnny helping her, and rubbed her head, looking at him with confusion in her eyes.

"Where are we? What happened to the others?" she asked as Johnny took his seat back by her bedside.

"We were hit by the cosmic storm and are back on Earth, Victor's private medical facility," he explained as Lily took a moment to look around at her room. She nodded her head and sighed, feeling a bit more tired than before. Johnny watched her closely as she began to yawn, and smiled at the sight. He would never say it out loud, but he couldn't even begin to explain how relieved he felt about his friends' safety. Everyone was perfectly fine, and in the end, he couldn't find anything more to be thankful for.

Lily looked over at Johnny and took a good look at him, making sure to examine every visible part of him. He laughed slightly as he looked at the girl, slightly confused.

"What, exactly, are you doing?" he asked her as she leaned back against her propped up pillows and shrugged.

"Are you sure you're ok enough to just start walking around?" she asked him as he smirked and nodded his head.

"I haven't felt this good in a really long time," he stated as Lily couldn't help but roll her eyes, though she did feel comforted about his safety.

"How are the others doing?" she asked.

"Ben and Reed are both fine, and I was just about to go check on Sue," Johnny commented. Lily rolled her eyes as she shook her head and gave him a knowing look.

"You mean, you accomplished on hitting on every nurse, so now you're checking up on us," she corrected as Johnny couldn't stop himself from laughing.

"It's almost weird, how well you know me."

"You're not that hard to read," she retorted back. He smiled at her as she returned the favor, and for a long moment, the two did nothing but stare at each other with content expressions on their faces.

Johnny's head almost began to spin and then he knew, the moment needed to end. He stood up, pushing the stool back against the wall, and walked over to the door. Lily watched with a smile, glad that her friends were all safe. Johnny looked back at her, sorry for the fact the moment had become too intense for him. He smirked back at her as she shook her head and chuckled.

"Don't do anything stupid."

"Wouldn't dream of it."


	5. Chapter 5

**Ignite**

_Chapter Five: New and Improved_

"Ah! I can't believe how good it feels to be on my feet again." Lily smiled to herself as she changed into fresh clothes and headed out of her room.

After a few tests and questions, she was free to do whatever she liked. She walked down the halls of the medical facility, not really sure where to go. As she turned around the corner, she stopped and rolled her eyes, shaking her head.

"I see you're already out, looking for trouble?"

Johnny smirked at her as he walked up to her, his snowboarding gear ready to go. "I'm just here to enjoy all of Victor's benefits he's giving us."

"I'm not really sure if the _Alps_, is one of them," Lily stated as he shrugged.

"No one's told me no, yet."

"Not that you would listen even if someone did," the young woman pointed out as Johnny smirked more, shrugging.

"You've got a point. You want to come along?" he asked as he began to walk away. She rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"No, I think I'll just stay here, who else is going to cover for your sorry ass, anyways?" She smirked at him as he grinned back at her before turning the corner. She sighed and shook her head, continuing down the hall. She opened the door to Reed's room and smiled as she saw him heading right towards her. He stopped, slightly surprised, and smiled at her happily.

"Lily! I'm glad you're finally awake!" He hugged her tightly as she held him with the same amount of strength, thankful to see him up and running, perfectly. After releasing one another from the hug, another voice filled the air.

"Reed, why don't-Lily?" Her eyes brightened at the sound of the voice as she quickly walked around Reed to meet her next favorite person.

"Ben!" She quickly ran up to him, wrapping her arms tightly around him, and squeezed her eyes shut.

"I was so worried about you!"

"Worried about me? I was worried about you, Kid." She chuckled at that as she let him go and he smiled down at her.

"Well, at least I know you didn't lose any of your strength," he commented as she chuckled and shook her head. She turned back towards Reed and raised an eyebrow.

"Where were you heading, anyways?" she asked him curiously as he glanced at Ben and shook his head.

"I was just going to grab a bite of something to eat really quick," he explained as he began to head out of the room. Lily frowned, noticing the uncomfortable look on his face and turned to Ben, knowing he was the source of Reed's behavior.

"What did you do?"

"I didn't do anything, I was just tryin' to talk some sense into the guy."

"About Susan, I'm guessing?" Lily added as Ben nodded his head. He sighed and thought for a moment. Suddenly, his face lit up, an idea popping into his head. He smirked at Lily, a mischievous look now planted on his face.

"I think I got an idea…"

* * *

"I'm not really sure about this."

"Oh, come on, Reed. You weren't even there for my 21st birthday party, so I think the least you can do is have a couple of drinks with me now that it's been a year later!" Lily smiled innocently at Reed and in the back of the man's head, he knew something was up her sleeve. He sighed helplessly and smiled, nodding his head.

"I suppose you're right."

"Of course I am." She smirked back at him as he chuckled and shook his head.

The two walked into the rather nice food court, not noticing two other people doing the same thing.

"I can only stay for a few drinks, Victor's waiting for me," Susan stated as Ben tried not to smirk.

"Oh, we wouldn't want to keep Vic waiting." Susan chuckled as she gave Ben a knowing look. He smiled back at her widely before the two heard their names.

"Ben? Susan?" Both of them looked up to see Lily and Reed standing before them. Susan's whole expression dropped at the sight of Reed, but that's why Lily was there: damage control.

"Susan!" she said happily as she caught the blonde's attention. Susan grinned at her as she hugged her tightly.

"I'm so glad you're alright! I wasn't sure how you were doing because I couldn't find you around this maze of a medical center," Lily explained as Susan held her tightly for a moment.

"I'm glad too, you don't know how worried I was for everyone," she said before the two released each other.

Reed looked at Ben with a _very _knowing look as Ben innocently avoided the gaze, knowing if he faced Reed, his cover would be completely blown.

"Why don't you come join us?" Ben suggested, mostly to Lily, as Lily glanced at Reed and smiled widely.

"That sounds like a great idea!" she said as she began to pull Reed along, Ben and Susan walking beside them. Reed glanced at Sue, as she returned the look, and both quickly looked away. A bubble began to form in Reed's stomach as he frowned.

'_Well, things couldn't get worse…could they?'_

* * *

Laughter filled the air as a single table in the food court brought life to the emptiness of the room. Smiles and grins were the only traces on everyone's face as Reed shook his head and Susan laughed more, motioning for Ben and Lily to continue their story.

"Ok, so then-" The laughter immediately stopped as Ben groaned, his stomach making rather loud gurgling noises. Susan laughed weakly as she gave Ben a slightly worried expression.

"Wow.."

"Are you alright?" Reed asked as Ben nodded his head, wiping his face with his napkin.

"Huh, bad shrimp, but I think I need to go lay down," he mumbled as he looked to the three at the table, his eyes lingering on Lily. She inwardly nodded to herself, understanding the sign.

"If you'll excuse me." The three watched as Ben walked out of the room, his hand never leaving his stomach.

Not wanting to waste any time, Lily sighed as she smiled to the two, and stood to her feet. "Alright, I think I'm actually going to go for a swim, I'm suddenly feeling a bit warm," she explained, not completely lying about that statement. She was suddenly feeling a bit toasty, although the room temperature seemed to be just fine earlier. Reed raised an eyebrow as he reached over and touched Lily's cheek.

"You're freezing," he said, almost taken aback by the touch. Lily shrugged as she stood to her feet and smiled at the two.

"Play nice!" She smirked to herself as she walked out of the room and shook her head.

'_I mean, hopefully, the two of them will get it right one of these days.'_

* * *

Lily hummed to herself as she made her way down to the pool, her towel wrapped around her waist. She walked into the room and found it completely empty. She smiled to herself and released a sigh of relief. She then set her things down at a table, lightly tossing her towel on to a chair. She walked over to the steps leading into the pool and slowly slid her foot into the water.

She always hated first getting into a pool, it was always so cold in the beginning. She waited for the usual chill to run up her spine, but received nothing. She raised an eyebrow and glanced down to see her foot completely covered in water. She shrugged the thought off and decided to take a chance, dunking her whole body into the water. She rose from the water and looked around confused.

'_That's weird. I'm usually shivering by now.' _Perhaps it was because the water was heated? Or because she just hadn't gone for a swim in a long time, but if that were the case, shouldn't the water be more cold than warm?

She ignored the thought and swam a few laps and by the end of her seventh lap, she was floating on her back, staring up at the ceiling. She smiled to herself, enjoying the sound of the water and the silence following it. She closed her eyes and imagined herself on a beach, the waves slowly rising and falling. She chuckled to herself and opened her eyes, but as she did, they widened at the sight in front of her.

"Uh…" She was still staring at the ceiling, but it was much closer than she remembered it being. She slowly sat up, the sound of running water filling her ears, and looked down. She released a shrill scream as she found herself on a large spurt of water. It was like the pool had turned into a large fountain and the water was just shooting out with her sitting at the top of it all.

She was sitting on a bed of water, but it wasn't still, it was still running. She screamed more and her eyes opened even more wide as the water began to the fall and rise and fall and rise endlessly. She thrashed around, not really sure what to do, and continued to scream for help, hoping someone would walk in and see the impossible sight.

"SOMEONE! HELP ME!" she shrieked as the water continued to rise up and down with her on it. Finally, she squeezed her eyes shut.

'_I wish I was out of the water!' _she thought helplessly to herself. Suddenly, the water shot out once more, only this time, the water platform beneath her disappeared. She released a terrified scream as she hurtled to the ground. She hit the cement with a "thud" and groaned, pain racking through her entire body. She took shallow breaths, her adrenaline still pumping, and her head span uncontrollably. She gained her breath slightly and slowly pushed herself up on to her knees, the pain still running through her body. She looked back at the pool to see the waves slowly calming down, and stared.

"…What the hell…" She shook her head as she rubbed it, finding no blood or scratches, though she would be receiving a few bruises after that. She used the table beside her to stand to her feet, her strength slowly withering away, and sprinted towards her towel. She wrapped it around her soaked body and ran out of the room, wanting to find answers.

'_I can't believe this!' _she shouted to herself.

Never had anything like this happened before, and she was slightly afraid to find out what was wrong.

'_It was like the water just threw me out on it's own!' _She ran as quickly as her feet would take her and when she arrived back at the food court, she shoved the glass door open, thankful to still see Reed, Susan, and an almost naked Johnny standing in the room.

"You guys!" she shouted. The three turned to her as she stopped beside Johnny, trying to catch her breath. She glanced at the man next to her, but made a double take, staring at the pink jacket wrapped tightly around his waist. She rolled her eyes and before Johnny could clarify anything, she held her hand up to stop him.

"I really don't even want to know."

"What happened to you?" Susan asked as she looked at Lily to see a few bruises already forming on her arms and legs. Lily turned her attention back at the task at hand and shook her head.

"You're seriously not going to believe this."

* * *

"It has to be the cloud, it fundamentally altered our DNA." The four mutated humans walked swiftly down the halls of Victor's private clinic, Susan and Reed leading the way.

Lily tried to keep up with their conversation, but the thoughts in her head kept rolling around, never sitting in one place. She was too riled up to really think. As she walked beside Johnny, the boy continued to snap his fingers, almost entranced by the sight. After the fifth time, Lily turned to scold him, but stopped, staring at his fingers.

"…Johnny.." Her jaw fell open as she stared at the small flame on his thumb. He looked at her with a very excited/confused/frightened expression. Lily quickly turned to Reed and Susan, wanting to catch their attention.

"Guys." The two stopped and looked back at Johnny and Lily, only to stare with utter shock. Lily guided Johnny as the two walked up to their elders. Immediately, Susan and Reed's breath was taken away, Johnny snapping again to extinguish the flame. He snapped once more, the little fire appearing back on his thumb. He looked at Susan and Reed with a confused smile and nodded towards the flame.

"Now picture this, except **everywhere**," he said as he motioned at his body.

Lily tried to picture his whole body on fire, but just couldn't see it in her head, it was impossible.

"It was everywhere!" he repeated once again as Reed looked at Sue, her face wearing an "I told you so" expression.

"...The cloud has fundamentally altered our DNA."

"Cool!" Johnny said excitedly.

The four headed down the hall against as Lily caught up to Reed's pace. "What exactly does that mean?" she asked as he shook his head, not really sure about anything anymore.

"I really don't know, but we have to find Ben."

"And you know what, guys? I think I was flying!" Lily glanced at Johnny and rolled her eyes.

"Don't get ahead of yourself, Johnny,"

"I'm serious! I swear to you, I could feel it," he said as Lily ignored him.

"Whatever you say."

As the four approached Ben's room, Reed ran up ahead, pounding lightly on the door. He waited for an answer but didn't get anything, and then his worries began to rise. The other three quickly followed, Lily walking head of Susan and Johnny. She quickly approached Reed's side as she began to knock on the door as well.

As the two began to try and make their way into Ben's bedroom, the two siblings followed, the tension between them slightly rising.

"Johnny, stop it." Susan felt her blood begin to simmer as Johnny continued to snap his fingers.

"I think I'm getting the hang of this."

"Johnny, I said stop." She waited one last time, only to hear the sound of him snap again, and lost her patience. She snapped around, glaring at her younger brother.

"Stop!" This caught her brother's attention as he immediately let the flame out.

"Alright."

"Alright?"

"Yes."

Susan rolled her eyes as she shook her head. "God!"

"God," Johnny said, almost as if he were mocking her. She gave her brother a scowl as he looked at her with a slightly irritated face.

"What's wrong with you?"

"What?"

"Susan, do you know the code?" Reed finally asked, hoping to get into Ben's room quickly and break up the brotherly/sisterly fight.

"I might," she said as she quickly approached the keypad to the room. Lily and Reed continued to knock on the door, Johnny now joining in. Reed glanced into the window and his eyes widened a bit as he saw a big form under the covers. Lily glanced inside and her eyes widened as she saw Ben's monitors going off the charts.

"Guys! We have to get in there, now!" she stated urgently as Susan tried her best to get the door opened.

"Hey! Does anybody have a key to this room? Anybody!" Johnny shouted out, searching for at least one nurse to come to their aid. Suddenly, Ben's bed collapsed, causing everyone to peer into the window.

"Ben! Hey! Open up! Are you alright?" Reed shouted through the glass, hoping by some miracle, the man would either hear him or stop ignoring him.

As the others did their best to get help and open the door, Reed slowly looked down at his hand, remembering the incident at the food court and began to think. Lily stopped knocking, her hand getting tired, and looked at Reed to ask him what to do.

Before she opened her mouth, she watched him think and stopped herself from talking. Lily watched Reed as he knelt down to the floor, his eyes glued to his hand, and he placed his hand by the crack of the door. Her eyes widened as she watched in silence, Reed's hand _actually _fitting beneath the door. Everyone slowly turned their attention to the man as they saw his hand in the air from the window.

It was a strange feeling. He could feel the pressure from the door, but that was really it. The rest of his arm just felt as if it were stretching out before a work out. It almost felt a bit refreshing.

'_Almost there.' _Reed concentrated as he watched his own hand unlock the door and slip back under the crack. Susan, Johnny, and Lily stared in awe, not really sure what to say about the current even that had just happened. He stood back to his feet in silence as they stared at him for a moment.

"...That's gross," Johnny said, breaking the silence.

_BOOM_

The three didn't waste time as they ran into the room and looked around. The room was now empty and completely torn up.

"Ben?" Reed cautiously called out.

"Where did he go?" Lily whispered as she and Susan scoped out the room.

"Look! Look, look, look, look!" Johnny quickly spat out. The four rushed towards the shattered window and looked out, the sun now almost gone, behind the horizon. They squinted, trying to look through the trees, an orange dot running through them.

"What is that?" Johnny whispered to no one in particular.

"What's going on?" The four jumped slightly as they all turned to face the intruder. Victor stood in the destroyed room, not understanding what had happened, and turned to Susan for answers as she walked a bit closer to him.

"What happened in here?" Lily turned her attention away from the man and looked back out to the forest to see the orange blob gone.

"Are you feeling alright?" Susan asked as Victor nodded his head.

"Just a few scratches is all," he clarified as Susan just looked at him, not sure whether to believe him or not.

"Ben did this. He had some sort of reaction to cloud," Reed explained as Victor looked at him with a confused look.

"We all have...different symptoms," Susan declared as Victor turned his attention to the woman standing before him.

"Victor…I should have-" Before she could finish, he raised his hand up, not really concerned about anything else but the consequences this whole event could bring about.

"Just find him," he demanded as he walked out of the room, not giving any of them a second glance. Susan frowned and sighed, turning her attention back to the others.

"So, anyone have a clue where the big guy is going?" Johnny asked as he stared out at the night. Everyone thought for a moment before Reed glanced down at the ground and his eyes softened. He knelt down and picked up a picture and looked up at the others.

"He's going home."


	6. Chapter 6

**Ignite**

_Chapter Six: Super Sick or Super Heroes_

Rain lightly fell to the ground as the night seemed to bring peace to the usually loud and busy city of New York. Most of the people were already locked away, safely in their homes, but there was still someone who had business to take care of.

'_Damn, this is such a mess.' _A large man stood in front of a pay phone and stared at the tiny buttons.

"You've gotta be kiddin' me," the rock-like man snorted slightly as he tried to press the telephone buttons, but seemed to fail. He growled at the pay phone, making sure that he was still concealed away by his long trench coat and hat.

"Ugh! Little buttons!" he snapped as he tried once more.

"Hello, operator?" He stared up at the sign posted above the windows of his home and smiled softly, the yellow poster saying, "Welcome Home."

"Hello?"

"Debs? It's me.."

"Ben?" Said man watched as the lights to his home turned on.

"Are you alright? You sound a little different?" he heard his fiancée say through the other end of the phone. He smiled weakly and shook his head.

"Listen, I need you to come out front," he said as he looked up and saw the curtain to the windows get pushed aside, a figure peering at him.

"Outside? You're home, baby?" Debs asked happily as Ben quickly turned his face from the window, afraid she'd be able to see him even from that distance.

"Yeah, I'm home." Deb laughed with a smile on her face as she looked at the pay phone and saw her future husband standing in front of it.

"I've got a surprise for you," she sang as Ben tried to smile, tried to sound happy.

"Yeah…I got a little one for you too.."

* * *

"Lily.." Silence filled the air as Johnny waited for said woman to reply. "Lily?"

"…"

"Lily!" Finally, Johnny caught her attention as she snapped her head towards him.

"What is it?" she asked as she glanced at Reed, in the front seat, to see him still on the phone. She frowned as Johnny sighed and shook his head. Her eyes widened as he firmly placed his hand on her leg and she looked down as he gave it a gentle squeeze. She smiled weakly as Johnny glanced at Susan to see her with the phone now, Reed watching her intently.

"You've got to calm down," Johnny said as Lily looked at him and rolled her eyes, trying to keep her composure.

"I'm already calm."

"Really?" he asked, giving her a shrewd look. She opened her mouth to object but stopped, sighing.

"Ben hasn't tried calling once. He's been gone for so long and-" Before she could go on, Johnny gave her leg a reassuring squeeze and made sure that she was gazing into his eyes.

"Hey, Ben's a big boy. He can handle himself," he said, trying to help the girl relax. Lily hesitated but nodded her head as she smiled at him. He smiled back and released her leg.

"Don't worry, we'll find him," he stated as she glanced at him and nodded.

"Ok. So, he was there last night." The two looked over at Reed as he shoved the phone back into his pocket.

"Deb's going to meet us at the other end of the bridge," he explained as the other three nodded their heads, hoping for the best.

As their taxi began to head across the bridge, the jitters returned to Lily, her anxiety growing slightly. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, leaning her head back against the car seat.

'_Johnny's right, surprisingly enough. I have to calm down. I'm sure Ben's perfectly fine!' _For some strange reason, she couldn't get rid of the bubble forming in her chest.

* * *

"Oh yeah, Ben. Few days in space, it'll be great. What's the worse that could happen?" Ben shook his head as he remembered the words Reed had said to him just a few days before the meeting with Victor. He sighed, he couldn't blame anyone for this, no matter how much he wanted to. It was like he had said, a freak of nature. He glanced down at his hands and sighed, the normal color of his skin replaced with a shade of orange.

After dinner at Victor's food court, he had had a strange feeling inside of him. At first, he had thought it was the shrimp he had eaten just a few minutes before that, but after a couple of seconds, he had realized that the pain wasn't the kind of pain a person gets after eating something bad. After that, everything had just turned into a blur. The only thing he could really remember was the searing pain. Through the frenzy of discovering how he looked and what others would say, he needed to escape, back to the one place where he thought he would be accepted. _'Hn, so much for that,' _he thought to himself as he sat on one of the pillars to the Brooklyn Bridge.

Suddenly, he felt a light, feathery touch on his shoulder and looked to see a pigeon sitting comfortably on him. He smiled slightly as he decided to make a new friend. "Hey, Little guy," Ben chuckled as the bird tilted it's head at him.

"You're not afraid of me, are you?" he asked playfully as the bird purred at him. He watched as it flew away and sighed. He glanced back down at his shoulder and an annoyed expression appeared on the stone like face.

"Hmm, perfect," he mumbled to himself as he looked up at the sky. "Thanks for that," he said to no one in particular as he wiped his shoulder of the feces the bird had left. As he finished cleaning himself, he looked to his left and saw a man standing on the edge of the bridge, a frightened look on his face. Ben looked at him confused as he watched the business man throw his suitcase into the water beneath them. As he took a step to end his life, Ben quickly spoke up, not wanting to just watch the man fall.

"Eh, you think you got problems?" The man looked over and his eyes widened, a new kind of fear developing inside of him. "Take a good look at me," Ben said, partially joking. The man gaped at him as he pointed and took a few shaky steps in the other direction.

"I mean, how bad could it be?" Ben asked as he looked at the man to see nothing but fear and confusion on his face. He sighed and shook his head, standing to his feet.

"Alright, pal. Take it easy." The man backed away, only putting himself in more danger and Ben quickly shook his head. "No! Don't go out there," Ben warned, trying to correct the man. The once suicidal man was now trying to escape for his life, but was putting himself in a worse situation.

"Stop, you fruitcake!" The man continued to back away, trying to keep his balance.

"No, no, no! Come closer." The man ignored Ben and backed further away. "No, that's further," the stone man pointed out.

People began to gather around to watch, not really sure if they should call for help or let things play out. The man took a faulty step back and began to fall. Ben's eyes widen as he tried to think quickly. The man reached out and grabbed a lose cable, his heart pounding like a jackhammer. His grip failed and he hit the ground, a taxi swerving around him. Ben shook his head and counted to three. After that, he took the plunge and landed on the ground, safely. He turned his attention to the flabbergasted man, but quickly span around to see a truck heading in their direction. He braced himself and as the truck hit him. He found no pain whatsoever and it was pushed back, the front having a dent. He turned to the man and pulled him by the arm, saving him from the taxi that almost ran into him. The two watched as all the cars around them began to crash into one another, a huge accident now blocking any sort of passage through the bridge.

As the cars began to stop, the people driving through grew confused and anxious, some having important places to go, and others looking for important people. Reed raised an eyebrow as he stared out the windshield of the tax to see an endless line of cars stopped. He glanced back at everyone else as they nodded and quickly climbed out of the car, searching for the source of the problem. Lily glanced at Susan as the woman gave her a confused glance back.

'_Ben, I hope you're ok.'_

"Alright, calm down." Ben tried to soothe the man as he watched him back away. He shook his head, his patience almost completely gone.

"You want to be scared?" Ben took a deep breath and glared at the man. "FINE!" he shouted as the man quickly turned and ran away for his life. The people around him all began to climb out of their cars, mystified by the sudden accident that had occurred. He glanced up at the truck he had stopped with his body and looked to see the driver slowly raise his head up, his vision still blurry and his ears ringing. Ben frowned as he shook his head.

'_Oops.'_

A large crowd began to form, trying to discover the cause of the accident, as the police tried to hold the people back for their own safety. As four figures approached the crowd, they stopped, seeing the sea of people. They frowned. There was no possible way they'd be able to get through the people _and _the police.

"What are you we going to do now?" Susan asked with a worried look on her face. Reed frowned as he stared at the police and thought.

"There's no way we'll be able to get past these guys," he explained as he thought for a moment. As he thought, his eyes widened, an idea abruptly coming into his head.

"But you could..." Susan couldn't help but frown inwardly as she saw the gleam in Reed's eyes.

'_Oh boy.'_

* * *

A loud thud noise filled the air as a pair of eyes tried to focus in on its surroundings. The truck driver did his best not to fall back into black oblivion as he blinked a few times. Out of nowhere, his door flew open and there, standing before him, was a man made of pure rock, it seemed. His eyes widened at the sight and for a short moment, he thought he was going to die. The apprehensive thought disappeared with ease as the man saw the innocent and weak shine in the monster's eyes.

"Sorry about that," Ben said apologetically as the driver just shrugged, his senses slowly returning to him. His terror slowly dissipated, allowing Ben to feel slightly relieved for a moment.

"Here we go," Ben announced as the driver nodded his head. He reached down for the seatbelt and tried to release himself from the binding, only to find himself stuck.

"I'm stuck." This caused Ben to sigh.

'_Great.'_

* * *

A pair of blue eyes closed as they concentrated on trying to seem invisible to the crowd. Lily, Johnny, and Reed watched with amazement as Susan's body disappeared from their sight, her clothes looking as if they were floating on their own. The people around them began to gasp as Reed glanced around.

"Sue! You're clothes! Lose them," Reed suggested as Susan nodded, although no one could see it. One by one, articles of clothing began to fall, a lump forming in Johnny's throat. He turned his head slightly, as to not watch his invisible sister strip down, and shook his head.

"This is so wrong." Lily couldn't help but smirk slightly as she glanced up at Johnny to see a very disturbed look plastered on his face. Before Susan could get to her bra and underwear, she slowly began to phase back, the people now chuckling at her. Lily bit her lip as Reed couldn't stop himself from staring, Johnny now completely disgusted at the situation.

"Oh, come on," he snapped as Lily covered her mouth, her laughter slipping through the cracks of her fingers. Johnny rolled his eyes as he kept his back completely turned at that point. Reed blinked a few times before speaking up.

"Wow, you've been working out?"

"Shut up."

Lily quickly pulled her jacket off, handing it to Susan, and gave her a sympathetic look. The woman quickly wrapped it around herself as she glared at Reed. "Have anymore great ideas? Why don't you strip down and let everyone see you naked!"

"Sue," Reed said, interrupting her rant. Lily sighed as Sue looked down to find herself invisible, once again.

"Oh."

Johnny sighed as he rubbed his head. "I'm going to need therapy."

Finally, the last piece of clothing was completely off and Sue was on her way. She pushed through the horde of people, the other three quickly following after her.

"Excuse me, sorry." The people stared with complete bewilderment as they looked to see the person who bumped them, but instead found no one. The four easily passed through the police, having easier access to finding Ben.

"Here," Johnny mumbled as he held Susan's clothes in the air. Invisible hands reached out, taking a hold of the clothes and he sighed, feeling as if he had violated some sort of sacred rule. Susan quickly started to change back in her clothes, now visible, and sighed, shaking her head.

"I still can't believe you made me do that!" she snapped as Reed rolled his eyes slightly, walking past her.

"We got through, didn't we? Just find Ben," he ordered as Susan frowned, but nodded. The four went their separate ways, searching for their friend.

"Ben?" Lily ran through the maze like path, looking around for Ben's face. As she listened to the others call out for the missing man, her eyes widened.

"..Is that…" She trailed off, not sure what words to say. Ben stood before her, his whole body and face completely contorted into stone or something of the like. She tried not to stare, but couldn't tear her eyes away from the man. He looked back and a wave of relief ran through him, his friends standing before him, concern in their eyes.

Johnny stared, guilt running through him for all the jokes he had made about the man's appearance previous to the accident and even after.

"Mom? Mom, where are you?" Johnny's thoughts were broken by the sound of the vulnerable voice and as he looked around, his eyes landed on a girl around the age of ten or eleven. His eyes opened wide, a small gas tank ready to explode. He quickly jumped on to the top of a taxi and leaped off of it, wrapping his arms tightly around the girl, to protect her.

Lily stared with complete shock as her heart skipped a beat. She watched as the taxi exploded, the flames engulfing Johnny. She screamed out to him, but could do nothing but back away, the heat too much for her to handle. Susan's eyes widened as she quickly held her hands up to protect herself.

As she waited for the pain, she felt nothing, which threw her off. She slowly opened an eye and they both snapped open as she saw an almost clear-blue shield around the flames, not only protecting her, but the people around the explosion. She concentrated more, wanting to keep everyone from harms way, and a determined twinkle appeared in her eyes.

As the explosion grew, an approaching fire-truck had no time to stop and escape. The firemen's eyes widened as they braced themselves, the truck getting hit and the end of it swinging off the bridge. A shout filled the air as a fireman held tightly to the ladder on top of the truck, his body weighing more than he remembered and the water looking more painful than it should have been.

Lily's ears perked up as she heard the sound of someone screaming, and she quickly looked over to see the fire-truck hanging off the bridge. She stared with shock and began to run over, but stopped herself. She glanced back at the others. She watched as Susan controlled the explosion with her force field. She fell to the ground, a bit of blood dripping from her nose. The two women made eye contact, Lily asking one question. Susan thought for a quick moment, but nodded her head, watching helplessly as the younger one of the two began to run as fast as her feet would take her.

Johnny glanced down at the girl and then at himself to find his body perfectly fine. He turned his attention back to the girl and made sure she was safe and sound. He ran over to his sister and helped her to her feet.

"You ok?" he asked as she nodded, staring at her friend. Johnny looked up and his eyes widened.

"What the hell does she think she's doing?" Johnny almost shouted as he watched Lily sprint as fast as she could towards the falling truck.

'_I have to make it!' _Lily concentrated as she ignored the burning sensation in her calves and continued to run. Her heart fluttered as the truck began to tip more, but as it did, her face lit up, someone already to its aid.

"Ben!" She watched as the man began to pull the truck down. She quickly ran, but to her dismay, the other end of the truck began to break, the man still hanging helplessly. She thought, looking around and then, she came up with an idea.

The weight of the truck began to catch up with Ben as he felt his feet getting dragged against the concrete. He winced and tried to pull harder. Suddenly, the ladder attached to the top of the truck, began to fall, a man screaming with fear. He jerked, as the ladder stopped, and flipped, holding tightly to the ladder. He winced, his arms feeling weaker by the second.

"Someone!"

Lily quickly reached the broken area of the bridge and didn't take a moment to hesitate. '_Here goes everything!" _

Susan and Johnny watched as Lily dived right off the bridge. Reed ran up to the edge of the bridge and stared, shocked, as Lily spiraled towards the water.

Lily closed her eyes and focused, holding her right arm out. Her eyes snapped open and she span around, facing the sky. She swung her arm with the motion of her body and as she did, a wave of water followed, shaped like a pillar. She focused more and smirked as a platform of water caught her. The pillar of water pushed up against the truck, holding it still. Lily used her other arm and did the same thing with another pillar of water, and by increasing the density, it was as if the pillars were almost solid. She pushed her arms forward and she could almost feel the weight of the truck on her arms. She concentrated more and helped Ben as he pulled the truck back on to the bridge.

The trucked jerked slightly and everyone's eyes widened as one of the firemen fell from the ladder. Lily gasped as she tried to think on her feet, but before anything happened, the man was caught. He looked up and a sigh was released from his lips.

"Don't worry, I've got you." Lily smiled as she watched Reed slowly reel his rubber-like body back up to the bridge where his feet were firmly planted. She turned her full attention back to the truck and pushed harder. Ben pulled as best as he could, the truck slowly coming back up to the bridge. Lily's eyes widen as the second man hanging from the truck began to fall. She glanced from the man to the truck and closed her eyes.

'_I hope you've got this, Ben.' _She pulled her pillars of water away from the truck and held her hand out towards the man. Her palm faced the sky, almost as if it had caught something, and a large spurt of water caught the man, the waves soaking both of them. The fireman looked up at her and she smiled weakly at him, her energy almost completely gone. She glanced back up at the truck and sighed, the truck now safely back up on the bridge. She closed her eyes and pictured herself back on the bridge and opened her eyes again to find her platform and the fireman's wave rising until it reached the edge of the bridge. She climbed over the destroyed railing and quickly helped the man over. He sighed and looked up at her with a thankful smile. She returned it with her own smile, but as she did, the world around her began to spin, and she started to fall.

Before she could hit the ground, arms caught her with ease, and she looked up to see a familiar smirk. She smiled weakly as she chuckled slightly.

"That wasn't half bad."

"Please," Lily mumbled as she leaned her head against a perfectly sculpted bicep.

"You almost had me worried."

"How surprising, Johnny Storm _actually _worried." She smiled up at her friend as he smiled back down at her and shook his head. He helped her to her feet as the two looked up and saw Reed and Susan running up to them.

"Lily! Are you alright?" Reed asked as she nodded her head, Susan holding her by the shoulders, examining her closely.

"Are you sure?" she asked as the raven haired woman nodded her head.

"Don't worry, but what about Ben-"

"Put your hands up!" The four looked over to see a group of policemen surrounding Ben. The rock man did nothing, not wanting to cause more trouble, but as he stood there, the sound of people cheering and clapping filled the air. The firemen from the incident quickly approached the police, making the men lower their guns. Ben looked up as he smiled happily, his friends quickly running up to him. Maybe things wouldn't be so bad for him. As the four began to walk up to him, they stopped, the sight of someone shocking them all.

As Ben's eyes roamed around the crowd of people cheering, he did a double-take, and stared as his fiancée stared back at him. He started to walk over towards her, but she backed away and shook her head. He stared at Deb with pain in his eyes as her own began to fill with tears. She stared down at her engagement ring and shook her head once again. She pulled it off her finger and set the diamond on the ground. Without a second glance, she turned and disappeared into the crowd, leaving a broken and lonely Ben.

Reed slowly began to approach his best friend, his heart filled with nothing but pain. The other three watched from afar, not having the right words to say, but was there really anything that anyone _could_ say?

Ben slowly reached down to pick up the ring, but his rather large fingers hindered him from doing so. He could feel the emotions welling up inside of him, and he fought back the tears threatening to appear. Suddenly, a smaller hand picked the ring up, handing it to the bigger one. Ben looked up to see a forlorn Reed looking back at him.

"..I swear to you, I will do **everything **in my power, until there's not a breath left in me.." The words hit Ben deep inside, and by the look in Reed's eyes, Ben could tell his friend really did care.

"You're going to be 'Ben' again," Reed reassured as Ben stared back at Reed. He slowly nodded his head as Reed gave his stone like shoulders a squeeze.

"…Ben.." Susan muttered as Lily shook her head. Johnny glanced from Ben, to the direction which Deb had ran off in. Whatever respect the fire-boy had towards the woman was now completely gone.

As they five stood in the crowd, the crowd continued to cheer, the accident and the pain over, for now.


	7. Chapter 7

Hey! Thanks to everyone who's been reading for the reviews and I'm really, really glad you like it so far! I hope you like this one!

Disclaimer: I don't own Fantastic Four, just Lily!

* * *

**Ignite**

_Chapter Seven: The Fantastics_

"Alright, Ms. Min. You may sit up now." Lily slowly sat up, the world still slightly fuzzy around her. She sighed as she rubbed her head and looked around.

After the "incident" on the bridge, the five were taken into a tent, set up by the police and firemen, to be examined and aided to.

'_Thankfully, everyone's alright.' _Lily stood up and walked over to her four friends and frowned, seeing a shattered look on Ben's face. _'Well, almost everyone.' _She took a seat next to the boulder-like man as he glanced at her. She smiled softly at him as he nodded and stared back down at the ring that had been returned to him. She leaned her head against his shoulder, and surprisingly enough, found the position quite comfortable. Ben looked down at the girl as she sighed and patted his knee softly. He smiled a bit, but it disappeared as quickly as it came. They sat in silence and for a moment, Ben's heart began to lift, just a tiny bit. Sadly, the moment was broken by a certain bonehead.

"..Where are your ears?" Both, Ben and Lily, glared up at Johnny as he gave Ben a serious look, his question obviously not a joke.

"Sir, there are some folks outside that want to talk to you." The five looked up as they saw the chief of the firemen walk into the tent. Reed glanced at the others, his eyes lingering on Susan. She quickly shook her head as he looked back at the fireman.

"We're not going public with this," Reed stated as the man gave him a very confused expression. "We're scientists, not celebrities."

"It's too late for that, sir," the chief stated. He walked over to the television on the table and turned it on, the news playing before them.

"See that?" Susan and Reed both approached the screen with astounded looks on their faces, the description of them at the bottom of the screen. Lily and Johnny both stood to their feet as they walked up to Reed and Susan and watched the news. The five of them read the description, the level of shock only rising.

"That's what they're calling you." Lily couldn't help but gape. The whole day was just so much to handle and now this?

"The Fantastic Five."

"Cool." Johnny quickly turned, wanting to face the media and as if it were a reflex, Lily grabbed his wrist, making him stop and turn back to them.

"What are you doing?" Lily asked him exasperatedly as he looked at her with a look on his face saying that she should already know.

"I'm going to go talk to them."

"Wait!" Susan called out as she looked at her four friends "We should think this through," she explained as Johnny pulled his arm from Lily's grip. He backed away as he motioned towards them.

"Alright then, start brainstorming!" He headed out the tent and without a second though, Lily went after him, knowing someone had to get him before it was too late.

"Johnny!" Reed and Sue stared at each other as they glanced at Ben. He stared back at the two and quickly rose to his feet, running after Johnny and Lily.

"Johnny, get a grip!" Lily snapped as she reached over and grabbed him once more. The flame-ball looked back at Lily and smirked as he began to pull her along. Her eyes widen as she tried to pull away from his iron grip.

"If you can't beat them, join them!"

"Johnny!" He ignored his name as Susan, Reed and Ben quickly walked after him.

"Get back here, right now!" Susan sternly muttered as Johnny glanced back at and ignored her. Lily tried to pull away from him, wanting nothing to do with the media, but failed again.

Finally, the two stopped in front of the cameras and Johnny released her wrist. She rubbed it slightly and glared at the back of his head. He raised his arms up to the crowd as they soaked him in and he smiled slightly, entertained by all the hype.

"Believe this?" Johnny asked as Reed and Susan walked up beside him and gave him a very tired expression. The chief followed after them, walking in front of them and looking mostly at Reed.

"Which one of you is the leader?" he asked as Johnny puffed his chest out and placed his hands on his hips, as if to make himself look stronger.

"That'd be me," he said. The man chuckled as he shook his head.

"No, seriously." This brought a quiet laugh from Lily's lips as Johnny frowned. Susan glanced at Reed and nudged him slightly. He glanced back at her and the look in her eyes made it clear what she wanted. He hesitated, but looked at the chief, nodding his head. The man moved aside as he nodded his head towards the crowd.

"You're on." Reed took a few steps forward and the sea of people pulled in even closer. At first, he couldn't find the right words, his anxiety and jitters getting the best of him. He took a deep breath and nodded to himself, gaining his composure.

"Uh…during our recent mission to the Von Doom space station, we were exposed to a unidentified radioactive energy."

* * *

"Um, sir." A sigh resonated in the air as Victor looked up at his secretary and gave him a very stern look.

"What is it?"

"Larry King just cancelled," his assistant explained. A very perplexed look crawled up upon Victor's face as he raised an eyebrow.

"Apparently, there's a bigger story." He held the remote the plasma screen TV. up, the screen turning on.

_"Here they come now! You had to see it to believe it!"_ Victor's eyes dilated slightly as he saw five people walk on to the screen. _"The band called The Fantastic Five."_ Victor clenched his mouth shut as his secretary gave him a very weary look from the back of his head.

_"We'll be going directly to our lab to diagnose our symptoms."_ Victor watched as Susan worked with the crowd.

_"Is this some kind of disease?"_ a woman asked, throwing Susan off slightly.

_"No, no, no. It's not..a disease,"_ Johnny stepped forward as the four around him gave him a very confused face. He smiled sheepishly as he turned to the crowd with his usual, confident face. _"If having special powers is a disease then yea, we've got it bad."_

_"Um, excuse me. That _thing_ doesn't look so fantastic."_ This statement caused Ben to flinch as he stepped forward slightly. Reed shook his head as he held his own hands up as if to defend himself.

_"Grim is a genuine, American hero-"_

_"What he means is, every team needs a mascot,"_ Johnny said playfully, Ben now glaring flames at him. Before Johnny could make anyone else look like a fool, Lily stepped in, improvising for the moment.

_"A new day has dawned!"_ she said with a weak smile. The four looked at her as she gave them a "what the hell do you want?" sort of expression. Johnny took the wheel, taking the heat off of Lily.

_"The days of The Fantastic Five."_

And in that very moment, Victor Von Doom's life came to a utter crash.

* * *

"This doesn't feel…right." Lily frowned as she stared out the police car window. Johnny glanced at her as Reed and Susan sighed.

"There's nothing you can do. Ben's weight changed dramatically due to the radiation."

"Still, we made him ride alone in an armored police truck. I think one of us should have gone with-"

"You worry _way _too much." Lily gave Johnny a glare as the police car pulled up to the Baxter Building, the home of Reed Richards. She shook her head as she elbowed the man in the side. He winced as she opened the car door and gave him one last dirty look.

"You're never going to grow up, are you?" she snapped before climbing out of the car.

Johnny hesitated a moment, slightly taken back by the words, but easily gained his composure back as he drowned in the attention from the media. Lily gave the cameras a smile as she nodded her head towards some of the people. She quickly walked up beside Reed and Susan, wanting to hide away forever. The three looked over as they watched Ben march out of the truck. Lily smiled at him as he gave her a nervous one back. She walked up to him and gave him a pat on the back.

"No worries. Once we're in, we won't have to deal with them," she reassured as Ben just nodded his head. The two walked into the building, Reed and Susan already talking to the doorman inside. Lily stopped and growled as she turned around and found Johnny soaking up the camera shots. She shook her head and stomped over to him, grabbing his wrist, and pulling him away after giving the cameras a smile or two.

"What are you doing?"

"It's like you need a babysitter every hour of the day!" she quietly snapped as Johnny rolled his eyes, letting himself get dragged away. He looked over at Ben and wrapped his free arm around the man.

"Come on, big guy. Give them a smile. They **want **to like you," he explained as he motioned to the kids cheering for the large man and walk ahead with Lil. Ben hesitated as the kids stared up at him and the thought for a moment before coming up with something _priceless _to say.

"Don't do drugs." He walked inside the building, the crowd cheering even more than before.

The five walked towards the elevator and climbed in. Lily raised an eyebrow as she heard the sound of something creaking. She looked over at Reed as he looked back at her, just as confused. The elevator door closed and the noises grew worse and louder, causing everyone to look around. Johnny leaned back against the wall and looked up. "Either we're moving really fast or not at all."

Lily rolled her eyes as she looked around. The alarm to the elevator began to rapidly go off, catching everyone's attention. The five looked up and an awkward silence filled the air.

'_Exceeds maximum weight...' _Ben frowned as he looked from Johnny, to Lily, to Susan, to Reed, to Johnny again. He frowned as he shook his head.

"I'll take the stairs," he said, sounding defeated. He walked out of the elevator as everyone gave him a sympathetic stare before the doors closed. Lily sighed as Reed and Susan gave each other disheartened expressions.

"..Why can't Ben turn it on and off like we can?" Johnny suddenly asked, gaining the attention of the other four.

"That's what we're here to find out," Reed explained as a worried look appeared on Susan's face.

"I mean…if it happened to him.."

"What? You mean, like we won't be able to turn it on and off either?" Johnny asked as Susan gave a nod. He chuckled and shrugged.

"That would save time, hah!"

"You don't really want to walk around on fire for the rest of your life, do you?" Susan asked as Johnny looked at her with a raised brow, a smirk on his face.

"Is that a trick question?"

"Grow up."

"Come on. Am I the only one who thinks this is cool?" The others sighed as the elevator door finally opened. The four walked out as Reed led the way.

"We should stay here until we find the extent of our changes and figure out how to reverse them," Reed explained as he walked deeper into his home. The other three followed, having no objections to his plan. Johnny's eyes roamed around the large apartment and they widened slightly.

"Whoa..." He walked into the middle of the room to find almost an entire lab sitting in front of him.

"I'm going to have to warn you, it's going to be a little crowded in some area," Reed shouted as he walked over to the light switch Susan and Lily stood beside each other as they stared at Reed's personal lab. Johnny approached Lily's side as he stared with slight awe.

"So, what do you think?" Reed asked as he walked over to the three.

"I don't know, Reed. I _think _you might be bringing your work home with you," Johnny said sarcastically as Reed chuckled. He gave Johnny's back a pat and began to walk out of the lab and down the hall.

"Let me show you guys where you'll be staying."

Johnny followed after the man as he whispered in his sisters ear, so not to let Reed hear. "Busy guy."

Susan sighed as she shook her head with an exasperated smile on her face. Lily gave Susan a slight pat on the back as she followed after Johnny and Reed.

"This is where you'll be staying, Sue," Reed instructed as he opened a door to a spare room. The blonde nodded her head and walked into the room.

"Thanks," she said as Reed gave her a comforting smile.

"No problem."

"So where am I crashing?" Johnny asked as Reed quickly turned his attention to Susan's younger brother. He headed down the hall and pointed to two rooms across from each other.

"Lily, you'll be staying in your old room, and Johnny, you'll be staying here."

"Why is it you curse me with the room right across _his _room?" Lily snapped as Johnny faked a frown.

"Hey! What is that supposed to mean?" he asked as the girl glared at him.

"As in, I don't feel comfortable sleeping anywhere near you."

"That's harsh."

"It's only the truth."

"Guys!" The two broke from their argument as Reed sighed and rubbed his forehead.

"You won't be staying in these rooms for long, just until we're done figuring things out, so until then just try to manage, please." Reed walked past them, wanting to try and set things up as quickly as possible so everyone could leave just as quickly. Johnny glanced down at Lily as she sighed and shook her head.

"So how long are you betting for?"

"I'm going to guess a month."

"I say two." Lily chuckled as she opened the door of her room. She glanced back at Johnny as he looked at her. She playfully glared before closing the door.

"If I catch you even _trying _to get in here, I swear, you're going to be in a world of pain."

"I'll do my best, but I won't make any promises!" She tried to glare more, but couldn't help but chuckle at the playful look on Johnny's face. She closed the door and leaned back against it, staring at the ceiling.

"What an idiot."


	8. Chapter 8

Hey everyone! I'm really glad that you readers are liking this story so far! Thank you for all the reviews and I hope you like this next one! =)

Disclaimer: I do not own Fantastic Four and any of the characters, except Lily!

* * *

**Ignite**

_Chapter Eight: Appointment with the Doctor_

'_This has to be the worst situation I've even been in, in my entire life!' _Lily sighed as she hung her clothes into her temporary closet. She stood motionless for a moment, her life playing out in her mind.

Never, had she thought something like this would happen, or even possible. Before anything negative could come into her head, she stopped herself and shook her head. The first thing she needed to worry about was reversing everything. _'If I can do that, then I won't have to worry about any of the other problems-' _Her thoughts were cut off by the sudden flickering of lights. She raised an eyebrow as the lights shuttered back on, and quickly opened her room door. She looked across the hall and gave her neighbor a confused look as Johnny stood in the doorway, just as confused. He pointed to Lily, as she shook her head, and scratched the back of his head.

"That was weird," he said as Lily nodded, opening her door fully, and took a look down the hall.

"I wonder what that was all about," she mumbled as Johnny shrugged, walking back into his room but keeping the door open so he could speak with her.

"Probably faulty lights, I wouldn't push it past Reed," he said as Lily hesitated for a moment but shrugged, pushing the little moment aside. She stared at Johnny's wide open door and glanced at her own. She left it open and walked back over to her bed and continued to move into the room.

"How are things in here?"

Lily quickly turned around and watched Johnny walk into her room. She rolled her eyes as he sat at her desk, and turned her attention back to her clothes.

"It's rude to come in without asking,"

"And it's rude to ignore someone when they're trying to have a pleasant conversation with you," Johnny retorted back as Lily span around, her hands on her hips. She narrowed her eyes at him as he stood his ground. She rolled her eyes and smiled slightly, shaking her head.

"You're still the same little boy I remember,"

"You really shouldn't be talking about little," Johnny commented. He laughed at her reaction as he stood up and walked over to a picture frame sitting on her dresser. He stared at the picture and smiled slightly.

"You still have this?"

Lily raised an eyebrow as she looked over at him and then smiled, nodding her head.

"I found it a few weeks ago. It was in an old box of stuff I had," she explained as she folded her sweats and placed them in a drawer. Johnny smiled down at the picture of the two of them. They were out with the neighborhood kids, messing around, when Susan had come up to them with her new camera. Johnny chuckled and set the picture down.

"It's weird,"

"What's weird?" Lily asked, deciding to humor Johnny, as he stared at Lily's back.

"You're different, but you're exactly the same," he said. Lily looked at him slightly surprised as she chuckled and lightly slapped his cheek.

"And you haven't changed," he laughed as he placed his hand on top of her head.

"As in I'm still awesome? Good-looking-"

"Stupid, annoying, conceded,"

"Hey! That's insulting!" Johnny playfully said as Lily couldn't help but laugh. She sighed and picked up her empty bag, placing it in the closet. She clapped her hands together and smiled.

"Finally, I'm finished!"

"Took you long enough,"

"And I'm guessing you just threw your stuff around and called it a day?" This made Johnny smirk as he shrugged.

"It's very efficient and simple,"

"More like messy and stupid." The two stared at each other for a long moment and found themselves locked in each other's eyes. Lily's heart began to beat quickly as she tried to look away but failed to miserably. She tried to speak, tried to move, but she just couldn't muster up enough strength to do anything.

Johnny lost himself in her eyes. He was slightly confused by the strange fluttering feeling in his stomach, but tried not to think too much of it. Following his instincts, he took a step closer to Lily and waited to see her reaction. She kept her ground and he took it as a sign of assurance. He took a few more steps closer to her before stopping only a mere inch or so away.

Lily could feel the heat radiating from his body and it almost made her sweat, or maybe that was just from the fact she was so nervous, for some reason. She couldn't control herself, and around Johnny, she just wanted to let everything go, throw her inhibition to the wind, and that scared her.

As Johnny slowly reached his hand up to her cheek, a deep voice filled the air, making both of them jump. Johnny quickly span around, shoving his hand into his pocket, as Lily stumbled back, but landed safely on her bed.

"Hey, Reed wants all of us in the lab. He's gonna start his testin' now," Ben called out as he walked into Lily's room. As he looked around, he raised his eyebrow as best as he could, Johnny standing innocently in front of him and Lily giving him a nervous smile. He looked at the fire-boy as Johnny gave him a smile in return.

"What are you doin' in here?" Ben asked cautiously as Johnny shrugged and looked back at Lily.

"I was just making sure she was getting her work done," he said casually as he began to walk out of the room. He patted Ben's back as he made his way down the hall, not looking back. Lily nodded her head as she stood up and quickly walked out after him.

"Why else would he be here?"

Ben stared at their backs for a moment, not sure how to register the situation. He shook his head and shrugged, not wanting to think too hard about it, his head hurt enough.

* * *

"Now, what exactly am I supposed to do here?" Johnny looked around as he stood in a small little metal heat generator.

"Just try and light yourself on fire, like you did before," Reed instructed as he pressed the intercom button. Lily shook her head as she chuckled a bit.

'_That's not something your hear often.'_

"Alright then, here I go!" The three watched from the control room as Johnny concentrated on making his body burst into flames. He stared at his hand as it slowly became engulfed by fire. He closed his eyes and snapped them open as the rest of his body turned into fire, the sensation thrilling for him.

"He's heating up from his core," Reed muttered as he looked at Johnny's charts.

"And his vitals are completely normal," Susan mumbled. Lily stared out at the generator and then down at the computer screen. Her eyes widened.

"He's so hot!" This caused both Reed and Susan to look up at Lily with confused looks on their faces. She looked up at the two and raised an eyebrow. Her eyes widened as she blushed slightly and glared at the two.

"Not like that!"

* * *

"In order to identify the source of the mutation, we're going to have to isolate your DNA so we can take a look at your genomes." Ben stared at Reed with a blank expression as he looked over at Susan for answers. She chuckled softly as she patted his shoulder.

"We're going to give you a physical in order to see what got zapped,"

"Oh! Why didn't you just say so?" Reed smiled at his friend as he walked over to the computer screen and began to run his scan. Susan walked up beside him and both of them stared in shock.

"His internal organs are completely solid.." The two looked up at Ben as he gave them a nervous look.

"How bad is it? You know, I used to smoke!"

* * *

"It's not invisibility, per-say. You can bend light around other objects, even people, that is, if you could control your emotional state better," Reed began to write down his results, his last comment striking Susan slightly.

"Excuse me?"

"I'm saying, if you had a little more self-control you could locate the trigger," Reed explained, not going around anything or trying to make Susan feel better. He span around in his chair as he looked at the computer screen in front of him.

"Can you remember your _exact _emotions on the bridge?"

"Hn. Anger…rage, frustration," she snapped her head right to Reed, hoping he'd get the clue. Of course, he didn't.

"Ok, is there any way to duplicate that feeling? Some memory or.." Reed waited for Susan's answer as she narrowed her eyes at him and smiled a bit.

"I'm sure I can think of _something_."

* * *

"Do I really have to be in my bathing suit for this?" Lily frowned as she crossed her arms over her chest, feeling slightly uncomfortable with the eyes of Reed, Susan and Johnny watching her, especially Johnny.

"It'll be necessary for your other tests that are coming up. For now, I just need you to stand on the scale in front of you," Reed instructed as Lily sighed and nodded. She stepped on to the scale, not really sure what to expect and stared up at the three others as they stood in the control room.

Johnny smirked as he saw an opening and decided to take a quick little shot at Lily.

"If it makes you feel any better, you look _real good _in that two piece." Lily glared up at Johnny as he laughed slightly and shook his head.

'_That face never gets old.'_

"Johnny!" Lily snapped as she felt her anger rise slightly. Susan rolled her eyes as she glared at her younger brother, who looked at her innocently. Reed ignored everything around him as he began to gather Lily's data. His eyes widened slightly as he read the charts and motioned for Susan to take a look.

"What is it?"

"In an average adult female, the body holds up to fifty-five percent of water," Reed explains, Johnny standing on his other side.

"Yea, so what?" The young man asked as Reed glanced at him and pointed at the screen. Both, Susan and Johnny, stared with awe.

"Her body is holding up to ninety percent,"

"Hey! What's going on up there?" Lily asked as the three looked down at her. They glanced at each other and then looked back down at her.

"Wow."

* * *

"Can you feel anything?" Susan flicked Ben's knee with a reflex hammer as best as she could, waiting for some sort of reaction from him. He shook his head and shrugged.

"Not a thing," he said as Reed walked towards Ben, a hammer in his hands. He took a deep breath and pulled the hammer back.

"Ok!" He slammed the hammer into stony man's knee and their eyes widened as Ben's leg kicked out, hitting a chair, and sending it across the room. The two stared back at Ben as he smiled weakly.

"Oops."

* * *

"Reed, it's getting way too hot." Said man walked over to the scanner as Lily stepped aside, showing him Johnny's rising temperature.

"That's a lot hotter than I anticipated." He turned on the intercom and spoke swiftly.

"Alright, Johnny, turn it down,"

"I can go hotter!" Johnny called out as he began to concentrate more, the heat rising even faster than before.

"Johnny, just back it down," Susan instructed to her brother. The three watched from the control room and Lily's eyes widened.

"He's actually reaching the temperature of the sun!" Lily shouted. Suddenly, the computer sparked, the heat too much for it too handle. The fire from Johnny busted through the metal, the light and heat causing everyone to cover their eyes and faces.

"JOHNNY! BACK IT DOWN!" Reed shouted once more. He took a shaky step forward and quickly slammed his hand on a red button, dousing Johnny out. The three quickly ran out of the control room, looking down at Johnny.

"You guys are really cramping my style!" A foam covered Johnny called out lightheartedly as Lily rolled her eyes, crossing her arms.

"Johnny, you were at 4000 Kelvin, do you know how hot that is?" Susan asked as Johnny looked through the burnt hole he had created.

"Any hotter and you would have reached Super Nova," his sister explained.

"Sweet,"

"No, not sweet. That's the temperature of the sun," Susan tried explaining once more.

"Not only could you kill yourself, but you could set fire to the Earth's atmosphere and destroy all human life as we know it," Reed explained. This caused Johnny to think for a short moment. He nodded his head and looked up at the three.

"Got it. Super Nova, bad," Lily shook her head and sighed, walking back into the control room.

"What an idiot."

* * *

"Are you sure this is really…_safe_?" Lily stood on the highest diving board in the Baxter Building's pool room and stared down at the three little people looking up at her.

"Don't worry, everything will be just fine," Reed assured as Lily rolled her eyes.

"That's what you said about the space trip," she mumbled to herself as she took a deep breath and nodded.

"Ok, what do you want me to do?" she asked as Susan and Johnny sat down at a table, an umbrella sitting over them, just in case.

"Just try and control the water, just like you did at the bridge," he said as Lily looked down and nodded her head. She took a deep breath and sighed, holding her hand out, her palm facing the water. Reed watched closely as the water sat completely still for a moment. His eyes widened though, waves slowly forming in the pool.

Susan slowly rose to her feet as she stared with awe, the water slowly rising into the air like a string. She approached Reed's side as they glanced at each other and then looked back at the pool. Johnny watched, having no words to say as the water rose up to Lily's hand. It's shape was wavy and it never ceased it's movement, but it looked like it was solid.

Lily concentrated on nothing but the image of the water in her head. She slowly moved her hand down, the water following her movements with grace. She then slowly opened her eyes and they widened as she saw the water. She laughed slightly, in shock, not sure how else to react.

"Try doing something with it," Reed called out as Lily nodded her head. She concentrated and bent her knees, trying to keep her balance on the board. She quickly span around and the water spiraled around her like a tornado, and she was standing right in the eye of the storm.

"Incredible," Reed muttered as Susan nodded her head. Johnny didn't even bother saying a word, just stood to his feet and walked up beside Reed.

"…Now that's cool," he mumbled as Reed just nodded his head.

An idea popped itself into Lily's head as she dumped the water back into the pool, confusing everyone.

"Um, Lily, what are you-" Reed's eyes widened as he watched Lily walk up to the edge of the board.

"Lily! Don't do it!" Susan called out, already reading her mind. Johnny watched her with amazement. If she was going to do what he thought she was going to do, someone needed to be there to catch her. He quickly walked up to the side of the pool, his eyes glued to the woman.

The water controller stared down, her blood pumping quickly. She closed her eyes and counted to three.

'_Here goes nothing.' _She stepped off the board, causing both Reed and Susan to shout her name. She began to fall slightly, but her eyes widened as she felt herself jerk to a stop. She held her arms out, as if she were on a balancing beam, and looked down to see herself standing in the air. She began to laugh as she imagined herself rising higher, her body doing as she pictured.

"That's amazing," Reed muttered as Susan nodded her head with shock. Johnny laughed as he clapped a few times.

"Impressive!" he shouted as Lily looked down and laughed back. Before she could reply, her eyes widened as she lost concentration and began to fall.

"Lily!" The three shouted as she fell into the water.

She thought the fall would hurt more, but surprisingly enough, it didn't. She opened her eyes and looked around to see she had indeed fallen into the water, but it was as if the water and caught her, sensing the fact that she had been in danger.

Lily gasped slightly as she felt an arm grab her and pull her up to the surface. She coughed as she held tightly to the hand and pulled herself to the edge of the pool.

"That was pretty awesome, dangerous, but awesome." The water controller took a few deep breaths and looked up at Johnny to see him smirk down at her. She smirked back and nodded as she held her other arm out for him to grab. He took it and pulled her out of the pool with ease.

"Are you…alright?" Reed trailed off as he and Susan stared at Johnny and Lily. The two raised an eyebrow as they looked at each other. Their own eyes widened as they stared at the steam coming off from their hands.

"Wait," Reed quickly grabbed Lily's towel and rushed back over, helping her dry off. She hugged herself with it, keeping an arm free, and looked over at Reed as he motioned towards Johnny.

"Grab his arm again," He said as he and Susan watched for any sort of reaction. Lily glanced at her dry arm and then back at Johnny's and shrugged. He held his hand out to her and smiled slightly.

"I don't bite." She hesitated but smiled, taking his hand with her own. Everybody stared with awe as they watched the steam slowly rising into the air. Reed and Susan blinked as Lily watched with a great amount of fascination. Johnny looked, a wide grin on his face, and laughed as he squeezed a bit more tightly to her hand.

"Not going to lie, this is really…amazing.." Lily mumbled as Susan chuckled and Reed smiled, shaking his head. After writing down all of the results from the physical contact between the two, Reed sighed and smiled at them, his job finished.

"Well, you two are free to go. The only testing I have left is for Susan," He explained. Lily glanced at Johnny as he gave her a slight smirk, heading out of the pool room. She followed after him, waving a quick goodbye to both of them. As she caught up to Johnny, he glanced at her and smirked.

"Did I mention how good you look in that bathing suit?"

"Did I mention that I'm much stronger than I look?" Lily threatened playfully. Johnny shook his head as they walked into the elevator.

"So, how long before those to blow up at each other?" Lily asked as Johnny shrugged with a smirk.

"I'm giving them a week at most,"

"I think it'll be sooner than that,"

"Think so?"

"I know so." Johnny chuckled as he shook his head and sighed, staring at Lily. She glanced at him and raised an eyebrow, seeing him stare at her with a strange sparkle in his eyes.

"What?" She asked as he shook his head.

"Nothing, just enjoying the view,"

"You are such a pig!"


	9. Chapter 9

Hey readers! Thanks for the reviews and the messages about this story! I'm really glad you all like it, and if anyone else has anything at all to say, please let me know! =)

Disclaimer: I do not own Fantastic Four or the characters except my OC!

* * *

**Ignite**

_Chapter Nine: House Arrest_

"So, what's the prognosis?" The sound of computers loading and scanners running filled the air as a doctor stared at the test results for Victor Von Doom.

"Your tissue, your organs, your entire biophysical structure is changing," his doctor explained. Victor listened carefully, though most of the words were in one ear and out the other. He was only searching for one piece of information.

"And it's changing into?"

"I don't really know. Some kind of organic-metallic alloid," the man explained as Victor stared down at his hand. Underneath his skin wasn't bone, but metal instead. "It's stronger than steel, stronger than diamonds." Victor gently ran his fingers over his arm, the skin slowly disappearing, leaving nothing but his metal bone structure.

"Just like the shields Reed said would protect us," the wealthy man mumbled to himself. He took a deep breath and looked up at his doctor, wanting more information.

"At this rate, the infection could be complete in maybe two, three weeks," the licensed doctor informed, the news intriguing to Victor.

"What do you mean, _complete_?" the man sitting on the observation table asked as his medical leader turned to him, leaning against the counter.

"I wish I could tell you. I can't pretend to know what we're dealing with here," he said cautiously, eying Victor carefully. He slowly stood up straight as he walked up a bit closer to the sitting man.

"I'll have to notify the C.D.C." The short statement caught Victor's attention very quickly as the man snapped his head towards the physician.

"What?" he chuckled.

"Center of Disease Control-"

"I know what it is," Victor interrupted, an almost nervous smile on his face.

"If this thing continues to grow, we may have a big problem on our hands." Victor didn't need anymore problems. In just a matter of what felt like seconds, it seemed as though his whole life was falling apart so easily and quickly. He couldn't let things go on like this, he needed to take control. He stood to his feet, hoping to use words to reach the man standing before him.

"Look at me. I have a life, a face of a **billion **dollar company," he started off, not wanting to resort to violence.

"Victor, this disease is progressive, degenerative." As the doctor continued, Victor's blood began to boil, his more reasonable side of mind quickly burning away. He grabbed the medical practitioner by the neck and squeezed just a bit.

"..That's terrible news." With one swift motion, Victor threw the man into the wall, killing him instantly. He stared down at his metal-like hand and felt a wave of satisfaction run through him. He could feel it, the power and the strength, just flowing through his veins. He quickly grabbed his jacket, walking out of the room with diligence.

"Let me go get a second opinion."

* * *

"Lily?" Johnny stood in front of said woman's door, waiting for any sort of reply, but received nothing. He raised an eyebrow and knocked a bit more loudly, his patience quickly wearing thin. "Hey, get up already. If we don't meet Reed downstairs, Susan will probably throw a fit," he called out, knocking once more. After waiting for Lily's reply, he decided to take a chance, and opened her bedroom door, shielding his face from any sort of object that could possibly be thrown at him. He opened an eye, after realizing that nothing was going to hit him, and looked to see Lily still sleeping soundly in her bed.

The night before, Lily and Reed had stayed up, trying to figure out a solution to their problems. She had finally gone to bed a few hours before Reed, the sandman coming for her around four or five in the morning.

Johnny watched Lily quietly, a small smile on his face, and walked over to her bedside. He took a seat on her bed, making sure not to wake her up, and watched, with slight interest, as her chest rose and fell with every breath she took. His eyes widened for a split second as he realized he was staring, and he quickly looked away.

He shook his head, laughing at his own strange behavior, and decided to take action. He leaned over, towards Lily's face, and squeezed her nose shut, her mouth also closed. He waited for a few seconds before a gasp was heard and Lily's eyes snapped open. She quickly sat up, slapping his hand away, and began to cough, surprised at the sudden intrusion as she slept. She growled slightly as she sleepily looked up.

"Who the hell-" Her eyes widened as Johnny stood up, laughing. "Johnny!" she snapped groggily as she caught her breath, her death glare never leaving his face. He gave her an innocent expression as she shook her head.

"What are you doing?" she snapped as he sat on her desk, looking at her as if he hadn't tried to suffocate her.

"Trying to wake you up. Apparently, you sleep harder than Ben,"

"I'm going to disregard that stupid comment. Why are you trying to wake me up? It's only eight-thirty," she pointed out. She was more surprised that the young man was awake himself.

"Reed has some 'interesting' news," he explained as he threw up air quotations. Lily gave him a bitter stare and rolled her eyes. She sighed and ran her fingers through her silk-like hair. She slowly stood to her feet and sighed once more, looking over at Johnny. She stretched and nodded, heading out of the room, not before grabbing Johnny's hand, and dragging him out as well. He rolled his eyes, but didn't fight against her grip, and the two headed down the hall.

* * *

"Our uniforms were exposed to the storm like us, so they can transform, like us." Five figures stood in the sitting room, their old space uniforms back on their bodies. Lily frowned as she looked at herself in the mirror and turned back to Reed.

"You know, when I was helping you last night, this wasn't the result I expecting." Reed rolled his eyes as he ignored her comment and continued to explain his discovery.

"You guys look like an eighties rock band," Ben laughed as Lily gave him a playful glare.

"You know, Ben, this material stretches. I'm sure I can figure out a way to make it fit." Reed suggested. The bulkier man of the two laughed as he shook his head.

"Nah, I wouldn't be caught **dead** wearin' that," he insisted as he took a chug of his water. Lily sighed as she glanced down at herself and frowned more.

'_What have I done to deserve this punishment?'_

"I love these costumes." The four looked over at an enthusiastic Johnny as he grinned at himself. "They're missing something though, like some spice,"

Lily shook her head as she decided to ignore him and sit down on the couch. "They're not costumes."

"You can't just use your powers in public, Johnny," Susan reminded him as he gave them a tired look. He shook his head and turned around to face the mirror.

"You guys are worse than NASA."

"You could burn somebody," Susan pointed out as Johnny shrugged. Lily rolled her eyes and stood up, her sleepiness still not completely gone.

"I'm going back to bed, wake me up later," she stated as she began to walk up the stairs. Johnny smirked as he watched her walk up each step, the view more than perfect for him. Lily glared ahead as she felt Johnny's stare on her be hind.

"You're an idiot."

"Don't be like that!" Lily stomped away, leaving a laughing Johnny, and shook her head.

* * *

A soft voice hummed into the air as a pair of blue eyes smiled at the world. Susan sighed as she took a deep breath of fresh air and looked around the city, content with everything around her.

She hadn't been out for a few days, so it was nice to finally walk around and be able to interact with the people around her, or so she had thought.

"..What.." Susan quickly approached a magazine stand and her eyes widened as she stared at different magazines, the covers plastered with pictures of herself, Reed, Ben, and the two youngsters of the group.

"It's The Invisible Woman!" Susan looked around as she heard a voice call out her new name. She glanced around the small crowd that began to form around her and almost started to panic, the many faces causing her to feel cramped. She quickly walked away from the stand, hoping to escape without trouble, of course, hopeful wishing can only get a person so far.

"Look, my kid's a big fan of yours!"

"Please, can you give me an autograph?" As people began to crowd around Susan, she quickly span around and began to run away from her assailants. She glanced over her shoulder as she shook her head and began to shed her clothing.

"Why am I doing this again?"

* * *

'_What is that obnoxious sound?' _Lily slowly blinked her eyes open as she winced and looked around her room.

She had been sleeping for a couple hours, when something had rudely woken her up.

"What…" She listened closely as the thunderous rap music filled her ears. She growled, closing her eyes, and stood to her feet. She stomped out of her room as she walked across the hall and shoved a door open.

"JOHNNY!" she screamed as said man raised an eyebrow. He turned to face Lily, the only thing covering his body being a towel wrapped loosely around his waist. Lily's eyes widened as her mouth fell open and she quickly span around. Johnny smirked as he walked over to his stereo and turned the music down.

"Do you usually walk in on people that just get out of the shower?" Lily turned back around and glared at Johnny as he gave her a playful smirk.

"Why the hell do you have the music blaring?"

"Why are you walking in while I'm changing?" Lily blushed as she quickly turned around, closing the door behind her. She leaned against the hallway wall and shook her head.

"I was sleeping, you know!"

"I know."

"Ugh! You are so unbearable!" she snapped as the door opened, Johnny's head poking out to look at her.

"You love me."

"Hn, don't get ahead of yourself," Lily mumbled as Johnny laughed slightly, pulling himself back into his room.

"Did I really wake you up?" he asked as Lily rolled her eyes, walking into her own room.

"What do you think?" she snapped slightly as he chuckled quietly to himself. He pulled on a shirt and pants as he stretched and walked out of his room, walking carelessly into Lily's.

"I'll take that as a yes," Johnny remarked as he sat down on her bed. She rolled her eyes and pulled a shirt on, over her camisole. She walked into her small walk-in closet, and closed the door, not wanting Johnny to get any sort of glimpse of her. Johnny frowned as he watched the door close.

"No fair!"

"Shut up." Johnny chuckled as he glanced around the room and sighed.

"You know, the more I stay here, the more I feel like I'm in prison." Lily buttoned her dark jeans as her eyes softened and she walked out of her closet.

"They wouldn't force us to stay if it wasn't crucial," Lily said as she leaned back against her wall. Johnny shrugged as he stood up and began to walk out of her room.

"They worry way too much."

"And you never seem to worry enough," the raven haired girl argued. Johnny chuckled as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and dragged her out of the room.

"Touché."

Lily chuckled as she crossed her arms, slightly enjoying the warmth from his body. She glanced up at his chiseled face and glanced away. "…I guess I do get what you mean though." That caught Johnny's attention quickly. He looked down at her as Lily avoided his gaze. "It is annoying to have to be cooped all the time,.

"Thank you! I'm glad someone here understands!" Johnny exclaimed as Lily rolled her eyes.

"Doesn't mean I don't think they're right."

"Yeah, yeah." Lily smiled as she shook her head, Johnny glancing down at her with a smirk. The two walked into the kitchen, Reed, Susan, and Ben already sitting at the table. Johnny released his hold on Lily as he walked over to the counter, stealing the bowl of orange juice Ben had freshly squeezed.

"Alright people, lets make this quick. I've got a lot of places to go today." Lily rolled her eyes, waiting for the sarcastic comment to come as she took a seat on the other side of Ben, across from Susan.

"Oh wait, I don't go anywhere!" Johnny laughed fakely as Reed sighed.

"Johnny, it's imperative that we stay inside."

"I know, I know. It's just, when you said that last time, I heard a week." Lily tried to ignore Johnny's incessant complaining as she watched Ben try to eat with a fork, slightly entertained.

"What worries me, is that our powers are evolving."

"I know, I know! I'm so close to flying, guys. I can feel it." Lily scoffed at that as Johnny glanced down at the back of her head, rolling up his used napkin and lightly tossing it on to the counter.

"You can't fly," Susan chuckled as Johnny gave her a smirk.

"Yet."

"Johnny, can you put that out?" Johnny turned around and his eyes widened slightly as he finally noticed his napkin lit in flames. He quickly began to slap them away, only to make everything a bit worse. Lily rolled her eyes as she didn't bother looking back and began to concentrate on the faucet. The water turned on by itself and a large bubble over water popped over the flame, dousing it with ease.

"So what's going on, Reed? How are you gonna cure us?" Ben asked as Reed grabbed his chart. The four listened intently as Reed began to explain his master plan, the basic idea of his strategy simple, yet very complicated.

"What are the risks?" Susan asked as she flipped through Reed's diagrams. The scientist frowned slightly as he glanced at his roommates.

"The smallest miscalculation could increase our symptoms exponentially or perhaps even kill us."

"Now, dying is bad, right?" Johnny asked sarcastically as he took a seat next to Lily. She glared at Johnny as he gave her an innocent look. "I say we let sleeping dogs lie, guys."

"So, how long till this contraption is up and runnin'?" Ben asked, ignoring Johnny as Reed shook his head.

"I don't know."

"How long, Reed?"

"I don't know, I-"

"You don't know?" Ben shouted as he swiftly stood to his feet. Everyone's eyes softened as Ben's desperate look slight broke their hearts.

"You don't want this to get worse."

"Worse than that?" It was almost like a reflex, insulting Ben. Johnny didn't even have to think about it anymore, though he should have.

Lily elbowed the guy beside her as she gave him a "what the hell are you doing," expression. She looked over at Ben as she saw a dark glint in his eyes and she frowned, hoping the two would break it up.

"Guys! We're going to be stuck here for awhile, so why don't we _try_ to get along, ok?" The two men eyed the other warily as Lily sat in the middle of them and sighed.

'_This is going to be a long while…'_


	10. Chapter 10

Hey there everyone! Thanks for the reviews and messages! I'm glad you all like this story so far and I hope you keep liking it! =) Thank you for all the support!

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters of Fantastic Four! Sadly hahaa

* * *

**Ignite**

_Chapter Ten: Let The Chaos Begin_

"Oh, Lily. You're still awake? It's already 2." Said woman looked up from her bowl of ice cream as she smiled at Susan and nodded her head.

"I'm so used to staying up with Reed, my body's not tired around this time," Lily said playfully as the blond woman chuckled and nodded her head. She sat across from her younger friend and pulled out a spoon of her own.

"Here." Lily set the bowl in the middle of the table and Susan laughed quietly as she and Lily ate out of it. The two sat in silence and as they munched on their snack. Susan noticed a perplexed look on Lily's face and frowned slightly.

"What're you thinking about?" she asked as the 22 year old looked up at Susan.

"Huh?"

"You looked like you were really troubled about something." Lily chuckled slightly as she shook her head.

"It's nothing serious, I'm just curious as to how this whole 'get along with everyone,' thing is going to work." Susan smiled as she took another bite of the chocolate ice cream.

"To be honest, I'm not really sure either, but I'm sure it won't be that bad," she assured as Lily chuckled and shrugged.

'_I wouldn't be too sure about that one.'_

* * *

Johnny smirked to himself as he slowly peeked over the couch, Ben sleeping like a rock with shaving cream in his hand. He quietly laughed to himself as he glanced around and smiled widely. He grabbed the feather duster off of the shelf and silently crept back over to the couch.

'_This is going to be good.'_

* * *

"Morning, Reed."

"Morning, Lily. Are you-"

"Yup, sorry! You know what they say, ladies first!" Lily smiled innocently as she quickly walked into the bathroom and shut the door, leaving Reed to stare for a moment. He sighed and quickly turned around to find the other bathroom. He released a content sigh as he quickly approached the other bathroom. As he opened the door, his eyes widened, a gasp filling the air.

"Don't you knock?" Susan exclaimed as she held up a towel and rapidly turned invisible. Reed, too embarrassed to actually make a coherent sentence, looked away and quickly closed the door, mumbling a sorry to the invisible woman. He stood in front of the door for a moment, a light blush appearing on his face.

'_Oh Lord.'_

* * *

"Hey, Lily. You got a pair of headphones I can borrow?" Johnny stood in front of the door across from his room and raised an eyebrow as he waited for Lily's reply. He knocked again and frowned as he received no reply. He looked around and shrugged, opening the door to the bedroom. As he walked in, he stopped, his eyes slightly wide.

Lily stretched as she stood in the middle of her room in nothing but a sports bra and shorts. She glanced down at her i-pod as the music played loudly in her ears. She wiped the sweat from her forehead, finished with her usual set of sit ups.

Johnny couldn't help but stare as Lily stood in front of him. He smirked, not wanting to ruin the moment; the earphones were no big deal at that point. He leaned against the doorframe of the room and crossed his arms as he began to lull thoughts over in his mind, rating Lily's body.

As Lily turned around to start her push ups, her eyes widened. Johnny kept his smirk as he watched Lily's face turn beet red. She glanced down at her body and squeezed her eyes shut as she quickly grabbed her comforter and covered herself up. She paused the music and glared at Johnny as he playfully frowned.

"Now why would you go and ruin the moment?"

Lily growled loudly, Johnny taking that as his cue to leave. He laughed as he quickly ran out of her room, a book flying in the air after him. "JOHNNY!"

* * *

'_You've seriously got to be kidding me.' _Johnny sighed for the fifth time as he tried to get Ben to rub his face with his shaving-cream covered hand. He stared at the feather dusters, not noticing a figure walking past him.

Lily read the lines of her book as she headed towards the kitchen, looking for a snack to munch on. She walked past 2 figures, but backed tracked, looking down to see Johnny kneeling behind the couch, shaving cream in Ben's hand. She rolled her eyes as she shook her head.

Johnny looked over his shoulder as he felt the duster get pulled out of his hand. He looked up at Lily with a raised eyebrow as she rolled her eyes at him.

"The guy's made of complete stone," she mumbled. She flipped the duster, the handle pointed in Ben's direction. Johnny smirked as Lily rolled her eyes and walked away.

"Moron."

* * *

"Reed? I got those samples…" Lily walked into the silent lab and looked around. Her eyes landed on the scientist and her eyes softened. She smiled as she quietly walked up to the sleeping man and shook her head.

"Is Reed in here, I have to-" Lily shushed the person walking into the room and turned around to see Susan looking at her with a confused expression. She pointed down to a sleeping Reed and Susan smiled slightly. She walked up to the two as Lily watched Susan smile sweetly down at the sleeping man.

"I'm sure you can handle this," Lily mumbled as she gave Susan's back a soft pat. Susan glanced at Lily as the woman walked out of the lab, and then looked back at Reed.

"Oh, Reed."

* * *

"Johnny! You're a damn cheater!"

"Don't be a sore loser!" Ben walked into the TV room and watched as Johnny and Lily played each other on the game system.

"Johnny! I swear if you don't quit that-"

"It's not my fault you just don't have enough skill to beat me." Ben smirked as he walked over to the two.

"Excuse me," he said innocently as he began to walk over the system. Johnny's eyes widened as fighter stopped battling against Lily's. He gapped as Lily laughed, beating his character.

"What..." He looked down at his controller and glared at the smashed cord. He snapped his head up at Ben as the man laughed, looking back at him.

"What?"

"Ben-" Johnny felt a hand pat his head softly as he looked up to see Lily walking past him with a smirk.

"Don't be a sore loser, Johnny. It's not _my _fault you don't have enough skill to beat me!"

"Ugh, Ben!"

* * *

'_Alright, this is it.' _Johnny gently caressed Ben's cheek with the handle of the duster, dedication shining in his eyes. He wasn't going to give up, he was going to finish what he had started. He watched as the handle ran over Ben's face and finally, the shaving cream had made contact with the target. Johnny threw his hands into the air, more than pleased with his victory, as he quickly got to his feet and sprinted out of the room.

Ben had been dreaming about all the good things in life, like he always did. When he slept, he always found himself in a better mood. He raised an eyebrow as he rubbed his face with his hand, but as he did, he felt something splatter all over his face. He slowly blinked his eyes open and as he did he looked at his hand and glared.

"Johnny? What are you doing?" Susan raised an eyebrow as she looked up from her charts she had been looking over for Reed, watching her brother sprint right past her.

'_What was that ab-'_

"JOHNNY?"

She frowned as she stared in said brother's direction and sighed. "What am I going to do with you?"

* * *

"Lily, did you ever finish-" Reed stopped in the middle of his sentence as he stared at Lily with a confused expression. She was staring out the window, the night sky drawing her attention. "…Lily?" The life in her eyes returned quickly as she turned her attention towards Reed with a raised brow.

"What's up?" she asked as his eyes softened. He looked at her with concern as he walked up beside her.

"What's the matter? You look like you've seen a ghost or something," he pointed out as Lily shook her head with a smile.

"It was nothing…I just…had a strange feeling is all."

"What kind of strange feeling?" he asked curiously as Lily shook her head.

"Trust me, it was nothing," she assured. The man stared at her with a serious gaze, but dropped the subject, not wanting to push the woman's buttons.

"If you say so." He began to walk out of the room, Lily following. She stopped at the doorway and frowned.

'_I have a bad feeling about something.'_

* * *

Silence set over a suite sized apartment as Victor stood over the faucet, his vision blurring. He stared at himself in his bathroom mirror and he could see it. His scars were getting worse and the skin on his hand had melted away and the metal structure was becoming way too noticeable.

He glared at himself as he tried to straighten his sight out. As he reached for the towel, he felt a shock run through his body, a spark going from his metal hand, to the outlet. He stared for a long moment as he carefully reached his hand out towards the outlet once more. His eyes widened as he felt a strange sensation running through his entire body. He pulled his hand away from the outlet as he stared at the electricity coming from his hand. With a swift motion, he closed his and into a fist and the lights of his apartment went off. He smirked in the dark as he turned and walked out of his bathroom.

"Interesting."

* * *

The ruckus coming from Reed's lab was more than distracting for everyone living the Baxter Building. The four occupants of Reed's apartment went about their day, trying to ignore the many people in their home and the rather disturbing sounds from the work being done for the generator.

Ben had decided to take a quick nap, feeling more tired than usual. Susan was making sure everything was going well, wanting to help Reed as much as she could. Since she was going to be busy, she gave baby-sitting Johnny duty to Lily, who was sitting at her desk, staring out the window.

She sat in front of her desk with a pen in her hand. She was in the middle of writing her letter of resignation to her school, seeing as they had basically offered to either fire her or let her quit. She released a sigh, but not because she had to quit, it was because somewhere in the back of her mind, she really didn't care.

'_What's gotten into me?' s_he asked herself as she rubbed the back of her head. She cleared her throat and turned her attention back to the blank piece of paper laid out before her.

She felt like having to quit was the least of her problems, almost like she had something bigger to worry about in the future. She had a strange feeling in her gut and she couldn't help but want to worry. She shook her head and stared down at the blank sheet of paper.

'…_I really should care more about the fact I'm basically being forced to quit…but for some reason, I just can't seem to find the time or the urge to mind.' _She didn't really understand it at all. She had worked so hard to get where she was and to have all of that taken away should have upset her more, but it didn't even faze her. She rolled her eyes and decided to ignore the thought, that's was the best way to handle situations like that.

'_You'd think at my age, Susan would have a little more faith in me.' _Johnny rolled his eyes as he walked out of his bedroom. He wanted to catch the X-Games on TV, seeing as he had nothing else better to do and everyone else seemed to be busy doing something else. Before he began to head down the hall, he stopped and looked over at Lily's bedroom to see the door open. Curiosity got the best of him, and he opened the door and raised an eyebrow. He stared at Lily as she sat at her desk, not moving an inch. He raised a brow as he walked into the room. He was surprised at how out of it she was, she hadn't even noticed his presence.

He leaned against the doorframe and sighed, deciding to use his manners for once.

_Knock Knock_

Lily jumped slightly as she look at her door and saw Johnny standing there. She raised an eyebrow and smirked as she turned her body.

"Well, would you look at that! You _do_ have some small hint of etiquette!" Johnny rolled his eyes as he smiled slightly and stood up straight.

"You writing your letter?" he asked curiously as Lily sighed and nodded her head.

"Yeah, they're only giving me a day to do it," she explained as Johnny nodded his head. His eyes softened as he watched Lily frown and stare out the window.

"You know, that look really doesn't suit your face." Lily's eyes widened as she stared up at Johnny, shocked by his statement. He gave her a smile as her eyes softened and she smiled back.

Johnny's heart skipped a beat and at that second, he looked away, not wanting to get wrapped up in the strange moment. Lily did the same, her grip on her pen a bit tighter than before.

"You know, you remind me too much of Reed." Lily raised an eyebrow at that as the young man in the doorway laughed. "You worry to much and work too much. You know, they say people who worry a lot get older faster."

"Where did you learn that? The back of a cereal box?"

"If you must know, yes." Lily laughed, enjoying the feeling of actually being relaxed. Johnny smiled, happy to see the comfortable look on his housemate's face.

"I'm watching the X-Games, if you want to join me." Lily stared at Johnny as he gave her a playful smirk. Her eyes softened as she sighed and shook her head.

"Nah. Thanks, but I should really finish up this letter before I do anything."

"Alright, but it's your loss," Johnny said playfully. Lily chuckled a she shook her head and watched the man walk away. She stared for a few minutes, not really sure how she was feeling, but after her fourth sigh, she decided to focus back on her task at hand. She stretched and smiled, feeling a bit better.

"That guy, he has a weird way of making people feel better." Lily chuckled and shook her head, her hand flowing as the words wrote themselves on her letter.

"You're kidding me," Johnny snapped as he watched a motor biker attempt to do a simple trick and fall. He rolled his eyes as he stood to his feet, wanting to snack on something. He walked into the kitchen and grabbed some popcorn, the sound of cheering from the TV catching his attention. He quickly walked out of the kitchen, glancing down the hallway to see if perhaps, Lily had taken up his offer. He sat back on the couch and watched with dismay at the fact that he was watching an amateur act as if he knew what he was doing. Suddenly, all of his pent of frustrations came to the surface of his brain. He stood up, taking a stand.

"I've got to get out of here." He headed to his room, but slowly back tracked as he stared at the closet. He smirked as he pulled out a dark blue suit.

"Heh.."

* * *

"Ah! All finished," Lily said to herself. She smiled as she folded her letter up and stuffed it into an envelope. She stood to her feet and stretched, feeling accomplished for the day. She looked around her room, searching for something new to catch her attention. Her eyes softened as she stared out, across the hall. She smiled slightly and walked out of the room, deciding that maybe Johnny had been right.

'_I guess that guy's not as stupid and slow as I thought he was.' _

Although she would never say it out loud, she and Johnny had grown close through their time together, and it was like she had seen every different side of him. She frowned as she stopped walking. '_What the hell am I thinking?' _What concerned her most, was the fact that she loved every side about the guy. No matter how much she pretended to detest him or how much she acted like she couldn't careless about him, he was one of the most important people to her.

She took a deep breath and sighed, walking out to the living room. "Hey, Johnny. How's-" Lily's raised an eyebrow as she saw the TV still on, but the room empty. Her heart began to race as she quickly walked into the kitchen. She called out for Johnny and began to panic as she heard nothing.

'_Johnny, please don't tell me...' _She sprinted down the hallway as she quickly swung his bedroom door open. She found the room empty and closed her eyes, everything good she had thought about Johnny, completely gone.

"God damn it, Johnny."


	11. Chapter 11

Hey everyone! I'm glad you all like the story so far! I've been thinking up an end cause it's getting there =P but I think I'll be making sequel! Thanks for the reviews and I hope you all enjoy this one. If you have any suggestions or comments, just let me know!

Disclaimer: I don't own FF or the characters

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**Ignite**

_Chapter Eleven: Conflict_

'_What the hell are you thinking, you damn idiot!' _Lily paced back and forth as she stared at the TV screen with a very baffled look on her face.

If she knew Johnny, and she did know him, he was heading straight to the stadium for the X-Games.

"God! How could I have let this happen! Susan specifically put me in charge for this exact reason!" Lily snapped at herself as she stood in front of the large television. She bit her nails as she tried to think of a way to handle the situation.

She could tell everyone that Johnny had left, but that would get not only herself in trouble, but Johnny as well, and for some reason, she really didn't want to have to do that. She could also just go out and get him herself, but she knew that if she did do that, it wouldn't work and the situation would probably only get worse.

_"Alright everyone, put your hands together for a special guest."_ Lily's pupils dilated as she heard the host speak up. She stared at the screen as she prayed to God.

'_Please, PLEASE, don't let it be-'_

_"Mr. Johnny Storm!"_

"Damn it." Lily watched as Johnny rode his motorbike and flew through the air, his experience showing through his moves. For a second, she had forgotten about her rage towards the man and was distracted by his skill.

"He's not half ba-oh, what am I saying!" she snapped as she crossed her arms and glared at the screen.

_"Come on, John! That's old school! Show us something new."_ At that statement, Lily could already see what was going to happen, and there was absolutely nothing she could do. '_Johnny, if you have any sort of intelligence you won't-' _

"Hey, where's matchstick? And what are you watchin'?" Lily span around as she saw Ben walk into the room. It looked as though he had just woken up from his nap and was looking for some company. Lily, too flabbergasted to think, stood with a weak smile on her face. Ben raised a brow as he leaned over to the side to look at the screen.

"…Is that…Johnny?" Ben's eyes widened as Lily held her arms up.

"I can explain-" Lily's mouth fell open as she watched Johnny let go of his bike.

"WHAT THE HELL IS HE DOING?"

Ben stood there with the same shocked look on his face as Lily gapped at the TV. The two watched as Johnny lit himself on fire and began to soar through the air for a short moment.

"Johnny!" Lily said with a gasp. She and Ben watched as Johnny began to fall to the ground. She winced as he fell hard, into the dirt.

Everyone in the crowd stared as they waited for Johnny to get to his feet. He groaned loudly as he pulled his helmet off, the plastic slightly melted. He stared up as the crew loomed over him, wanting to make sure that he was still in one piece. _"It's good, I'm ok,"_ he mumbled as he quickly stood to his feet.

_"He's ok! He's alright!_" Lily sighed as she watched the Host motion towards the perfectly safe Johnny.

"That damn moron!" Lily snapped as she shook her head. She sighed and rubbed her forehead, a tiny smirk on her face.

'_The bastard's lucky, that's for sure.' _

Ben shook his head as he looked over at Lily with a disappointed look on his face. She looked back at him and immediately frowned, feeling a bit ashamed of herself. "Ben-"

"You know, he's starting to rub off on you," he snapped, throwing Lily off guard.

"What is that supposed to mean?" she exclaimed as she followed after Ben, who began to make his way towards Reed's lab.

"Why do you think you just let him go, without even sayin' a word to the punk?"

"If I had known he was going to leave, I would have-"

"The kid's got a one-track mind, you knew he'd end up tryin' to get out," Ben pointed out. Lily's hand balled as her anger began to boil.

"That's not fair, Ben!"

"Alright then, if you're so convinced you ain't like the kid, why didn't you go and tell Reed and Susan that he went off like an idiot?"

Lily stared at Ben with a shocked and flustered expression.

She tried to think of an answer, but couldn't say a word. She, herself, was confused at her own behavior. It wasn't like her to speak out against Ben. He was someone she really trusted and believed in and for her to actually feel angry towards him made her unsure of everything. Everything was becoming so dysfunctional so quickly, Lily just couldn't get her head together.

Ben rolled his eyes as he began to walk towards the lab. Suddenly, before she could think, a wave of rage drove through Lily's body and soul.

"Maybe I didn't say anything because I understand how he feels!" Ben stopped as he looked back at Lily. "Being cooped up in here isn't the best thing, you know! It's not fair that we have to stay in here just because yo-" Lily stopped herself and covered her mouth as Ben blinked a few times, not able to actually register the whole situation. The two stood in silence for a moment as everything settled in, their hearts beating rapidly for two different reasons.

"…Ben-"

"Now I really know the kid's rubbed off on you," Ben snapped bitterly. Lily shook her head as she took a few steps towards the man.

"No, Ben! I didn't mean to say, what I meant was-"

"You made it pretty clear." Ben turned around and stomped towards the lab, not giving Lily a second glance. The woman leaned against the wall and fell to her knees, taking shallow breaths. She closed her eyes and frowned.

"Way to go, Lily."

* * *

"Please, guys!" Lily tried to break through everyone's shield as the four _heroes _made their way towards the stadium.

After revealing Johnny's whereabouts to Reed and Susan, the four immediately went after the boy, in hopes of doing some damage control.

In matters of seconds, Johnny had become the face of the superheroes, Fantastic Five. He had even taken the liberty of giving everyone names. He called himself Human Torch and Susan, Invisible _Girl_. He named Reed Mr. Fantastic and gave Lily, Tide. The worst name of all names was Ben's, his being The Thing. After that, Ben had decided to go show Johnny exactly how he felt, Susan and Reed following after to also talk to Johnny.

"Guys, I'm sorry! Please-" Lily immediately stopped as all three adults turned to her, giving her a cold stare. She bit her lip as she watched the three approach the stadium, Johnny coming out with a crowd around him and a lady in each arm.

"There he is," Susan pointed out as she and Reed quickly walked up to Johnny. Lily sighed as she glanced over at Ben to see him smirk. She followed his gaze and her eyes widened.

"Ben-" He turned his head and gave her a cold glare. She sighed, frowning.

"Johnny!" Susan snapped as she and Reed walked beside the "Human Torch."

"Can we talk about this later, Guys?"

"No, we can't talk about this later." As the three began to bicker, Lily did nothing but watch, not sure what else to do. She glanced over at Ben and her eyes widened as she saw the work he had done.

"Ben-" She stared as the man tossed Johnny's now crunched of car, the ball of metal landing right in front of the three. Johnny gawked, not able to form coherent sentences. Ben laughed slightly as he tossed the license plate at Johnny's head. It hit him with perfect aim, catching everyone's attention.

"You think that's funny, Pebbles?" Johnny snapped as Ben began to stomp his way towards the boy. Lily released a frustrated sigh as she ran her fingers through her hair.

"You know, you're the face of the new _Fantastic Five_?"

"A face that's about to be broken!" Ben yelled as he rolled his hand up to a fist.

As the argument grew worse, Lily began to feel more and more ridiculous. She reflected on her past behavior and Ben had been right, Johnny had rubbed off on her. What bothered her the most about the situation, was the fact that, deep down inside, she didn't mind the fact that he had rubbed off on her. She actually liked the feeling, and that was something Lily could never and would never say out loud, ever.

She watched, helplessly, as Johnny and Ben broke into an actual fight, Johnny slamming into a billboard. Lily's eyes widened as she took a step forward, but stopped herself from going any further.

On one hand, Lily wanted nothing more than to punch Johnny senseless for his utter stupidity and insensitivity, but on another, she wanted everyone to leave him alone.

'_I must be an idiot!' _Lily shook her head as she listened to the endless chaos around her. Finally, the arguing stopped, Ben and Johnny more than revolted by the others existence.

The raven haired woman watched as Ben began to walk past her. She gave Ben a torn look as he did nothing but shake his head. She closed her eyes, feeling defeated as Susan walked past her, following after Ben. Lily looked over at Reed as he matched her gaze. His eyes softened as he nodded and looked over at a very angry Johnny.

"What?" Johnny snapped as he felt Reed's gaze on him. The young man walked around his ruined car and kicked it lightly, his disappointment rising.

"You need to control yourself," Reed said, sounding more tired than angry with the boy. "You should think before your act."

"But see, that's _your_ problem! You always think, but you never act!" Johnny exclaimed as he turned to face a shocked Reed.

"What if we got these powers for a reason? What if it's like, some 'higher calling'?"

"Oh, higher calling?" Reed snapped as he shook his head. "A higher calling like getting girls and making money?"

"Is there any higher?" As Johnny asked the rhetorical question, Reed looked over at Lily, a disgusted look on her face. Johnny followed the scientist's gaze and immediately his gaze fell.

"Lily-"

"Don't come near me!" Lily snapped lowly.

Johnny took a step towards her as she took one away from him. His heart raced as he saw the distance between the two. He didn't like it, not one, single bit.

Lily shook her head as she glared daggers at him. "You are disgusting!" she snapped as Johnny tried to intervene.

"Lil-"

"Shut up!" she shouted, her pent up anger now pooling out of her.

"You…I…" She was so angry at, not only Johnny, but at herself, she couldn't really form a sentence that made sense.

"Have you been listening to yourself? You sound like a complete idiot!" she snapped, deciding to ignore everything around her.

Johnny felt his whole chest constrict as he saw the most painful look on Lily's face. He frowned as he took a step forward and shook his head. He hadn't felt disappointed about his actions until he had seen the look on her face. He couldn't believe that he was the one who had done something to make her look so disturbed.

"Hey, if you'd just let-" Lily pushed Johnny away as he tried to grab her shoulders to calm her down.

"Don't touch me!" she snapped.

"Do you know how stupid you made everyone feel? How stupid you made _me _look?" Johnny glanced over at Reed as the man glanced back at him, his eyes agreeing with Lily's words.

Lily laughed with ice in her voice as she shook her head and rubbed her cheeks. "I should have known!" she muttered as she shook her head.

"You know, I actually tried to stick up for you! I tried helping you out because, for some strange reason, I thought you deserved it! And you know what? That was a huge mistake!" Lily hadn't felt this angry in her entire life, she was livid.

"And then, I said those horrible things to Ben." She held her forehead in her hands as Johnny frowned. Before he could say anything, Lily continued on.

"Ben was right," she said quietly. "You did rub off on me, and you know what? I couldn't be more disgusted with myself!"

Johnny stood in the middle of the street in silence as the crowd just murmured amongst themselves, not really understanding the situation at hand. Reed stared with sadness in his eyes, the emotion in Lily's eyes seeming too familiar to him.

"You are a pathetic excuse for a person and a friend, _especially _a friend." Not bothering to give the "Human Torch" a second glance, Lily walked away, shaking her head.

"Have fun with your _higher calling_."

The two men watched as Lily pushed her way through the crowd, not wasting another breath on Johnny.

"…I-"

"Don't," Reed said quietly, giving Johnny a warning glance. The fire boy couldn't stop himself from frowning as he stared in Lily's direction. Reed sighed as he began to follow after the girl, not giving Johnny a second glance. Before he disappeared into the crowd, the scientist looked back at Johnny with a pleading look in his eyes.

"Just think about everything, Johnny." And with that, Johnny found himself standing by himself, feeling a bit more lonely than he thought he would.

* * *

"Ben!" Said stone man didn't move an inch to look over his shoulder as he continued to make his way down the sidewalk, ignoring the strange glances from other people around him. He held his breath as he counted to ten over and over again, he wasn't sure how long he would last before exploding at everyone giving him a strange look.

Susan quickly ran up beside Ben as she placed a warm hand on his stone-like shoulder, wanting to show some sort of sign that she was with him.

"He didn't mean it! You know Johnny, he's always been a hothead."

"It ain't him, IT'S THEM!" Ben shouted, releasing a tiny bit of his held up frustration and anger. Susan's eyes softened as Ben began to walk down the sidewalk again.

"I can't live like this," he muttered as Susan tried to think of something to make the man feel a bit better.

"Just give Reed a little more time! You know how he is! Always analyzing every little thing."

"Well, it's easy for you to be patient-"

"No it's not!" Susan protested, catching Ben's full attention. She gave Ben a very exhausted expression as sadness seeped through every pore of her face. "I thought I was done waiting for Reed, but..I…" Ben's eyes softened for a moment as Susan shook her head.

"We're all in this together."

"Together? Susie, look at me. You have no idea what I'd give…" Susan's brows furrowed as she frowned more at Ben's distraught face. "..What I'd give to be invisible." Susan's jaw clenched shut as she tried to find the words to say to make all of their problems disappear. She watched helplessly as Ben slowly walked away, his hope slowly draining from his body.

'_Ben..' _

* * *

"Lily!" Said woman ignored her name as she continued to quickly walk down the sidewalk. She didn't dare look back because she knew, she knew if she did, she would just regret it.

"Lily, come on!" Reed frowned as he tried to get the girl to face him, but she only continued to ignore him. Finally, after calling out her name a few more times, Reed caught up to her, grabbing her wrist and jerking her to a stop. They stood in the middle of an empty parking lot, neither wanting to be the first to break the silence.

"Hey." Lily stood silently as Reed frowned, looking down at her frowning face.

"…I didn't mean to let Johnny-"

"We know," Reed said softly. He smiled a little one and tilted Lily's face to look up at him.

"That's the first time I've ever actually seen you scream at someone before." Lily laughed slightly as she shook her head and sighed.

"…Felt kind of liberating," she mumbled as Reed smiled. Lily frowned as she shook her head and found tears welling up in her eyes. Reed's eyes softened as he shook his head and quietly shushed her.

"It's alright." He wrapped his arms around the girl as Lily began to sob. Reed sighed as he felt the fragile woman's body tremble in his arms.

"Everything's all…messed up!"

"Don't worry, once I get the generator going everything will be back to normal," he assured as Lily shook her head, hiding her face in his chest.

"It won't be, though! It's not even about our condition anymore!" she said as Reed release her from his hug. He stared down at Lily as she avoided his gaze. His eyes softened as he realized what was really bothering the woman.

"…Don't worry." He hugged her once more as she sighed. "Everything's going to work out."

"How do you know?" she asked quietly as Reed smiled.

"Because I know you."

Lily smiled slightly as she felt a small wave of relief run through her. She couldn't have asked for better friends, well, with one exception. "..Thank you, Reed."

For the moment, Lily would sit with her closest friend and pretend nothing else existed, no problems, no fights, no genetic mutations, just herself, and then maybe life would unravel itself for the better.


	12. Chapter 12

Hey! I know it's been an extremely loooong time since I've updated this, but here it is! I hope you like it, it's been a very long time for me since I wrote for this story so please, just bear with it! Review please so I can see and understand what's good and what's bad! Thank you for the patience and the support everyone! Oh, and there will be a sequel because this is coming close to the end and I was thinking about it!

Disclaimer: I do not own anything!

* * *

**Ignite**

_Chapter Twelve: Weakened Bonds_

'_It's late…maybe I should head back.' _A lone figure thought to herself. A sigh echoed in the silent park, the people of the city now safely tucked away in their homes.

"Well, Lily. Looks like things couldn't have gotten any worse for you," said woman mumbled to herself. The Korean woman scratched the back of her head as she leaned back into the park bench, trying to clear her head of the many thoughts running around.

"Excuse me?" Lily raised a brow as she turned around in her seat. "Sorry to bother you, but I just wanted to make sure you were alright," a deep voice suddenly said. Lily blinked a bit as she tried to smile, nodding her head.

"I'm fine," she mumbled as she tried not to look so sad.

"…You don't seem very fine," the man said as he stood behind the bench. He gave her a soft smile, making Lily feel a bit better about the day.

"…Wait… are you-"

"Yes, I am," Lily said, already knowing the question. She stared up at a man, perhaps a few years older than herself, as he smiled down at her, taking a seat beside her.

"I'm honored to meet you."

"Hah, thanks. You must know my name, so what's your?" Lily asked as the friendly man smiled, nodding his head.

"I'm Travis Carter," he said. Lily nodded as she locked the name into the memory bank of her brain.

"It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Travis," she said as the man smiled.

"The pleasure's all mine," he replied back. Lily chuckled as she sighed, staring out at the hills of the park. Travis stared at her for a moment before he turned his attention towards the park.

"You seem to be having a rough day?" he asked as Lily laughed sourly, shaking her head.

"You don't know the half of it," she mumbled as Travis glanced at her. He stood to his feet, confusing the black haired woman.

"Let me help you forget," he said as he held his hand out towards her. The water bender blinked as she stared at this random man's hand. He gave her a fun smirk, sparking something inside of her soul. Lily took his hand with her own and stood to her feet.

"Please do."

* * *

"Reed," a voice hissed as footsteps resounded in a rather nicely furnished office. A man with evil intent stood before his many screens and watched as one of the screens showed a more earnest man working hard to find a cure to his problems.

"He got what he wanted, and **everything **he wanted, he took from _me._" Victor glared at the man on the screen as he shook his head. He watched intently as the screen zoomed in on the hard working scientist.

"Now it's time to take it back," he said calmly as he felt his blood pumping through his veins, his adrenaline rising with just the thought of destroying his rival and enemy.

"But, firsts thing's first. I need to get rid of his _bodyguard_," he mumbled to himself as he stared at another screen holding the image of a mutated Ben. He began to smirk as the reels in his brain began to turn and his plan began to surface.

* * *

"This was unexpected."

"It really was." Lily laughed as she and her new friend stood beneath the pouring rain. The storm had been sudden and as the two were making their way towards the inner workings of the city, the rain began to pelt down on them. Trying to find at least a little shelter from the rain, the two stood under a rather filled out tree. Lily wiped the rain from her face as she glanced up at Travis, taking some time to actually examine him.

He had dark brown hair that went well with his bright blue eyes. He was toned, not too skinny and definitely not too big. He was taller too, but a bit shorter than Johnny.

'_Johnny…'_ Lily frowned at the thought as she shrunk back into herself. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't truly ever stop thinking about the moronic man. It bothered her so much, but she knew there was nothing she could really do about the situation.

Travis glanced down at Lily to say something but stopped as he frowned and saw a rather gloomy expression etched on her face. He hesitated for a moment before he decided to screw it all.

"Why don't we-" Lily stopped as she felt an arm wrap around her shoulders, holding her tightly. She looked over at Travis, who did his best to avoid her gaze, and smiled a bit. The touch wasn't anything like she felt with Johnny, but it was good enough. She leaned into her companion as he glanced down at her and smiled.

"You hungry?" she asked as he nodded his head.

"Yeah. Lets go eat, my treat," he offered as Lily nodded. She pulled herself away from him, and Travis frowned, knowing she was a bit uncomfortable with the touch. Lily looked back at him and smiled as she motioned for him to follow.

"Lets go."

Travis nodded with a smile as he regained his composure and walked beside her, ignoring the rain. As Lily walked down the sidewalk, she glanced across the street and stopped. A brow raised itself as she narrowed her eyes, trying to get a better view of what she thought she could see through the rain.

"Hey-" Travis stopped as he noticed Lily's gaze on a small diner across the street. He walked up beside her as he placed a hand on her shoulder.

"What are you looking at?" he asked as Lily snapped her attention back to the brunette. She smiled as she shook her head, walking head.

"Nothing…I thought I saw someone, but I think I was just mistaken," she explained as she gave one last glance at the diner.

* * *

"Reed…Reed?" Susan approached the said man's desk and her eyes softened as she saw the scientist sleeping soundly. She gently grabbed his hand, shaking it slightly, and watched as the man snapped awake, his rubbery face shaped by the keyboard.

"Wha…" Reed blinked a few times as he gained his bearings again. He looked up at Susan as she smiled sweetly at him. He cleared his throat as he tried to rub the sleep away from his eyes.

"I was just resting my eyes is all."

"So I see," Susan retorted back as she smiled a bit. She glanced at the more worried and serious face and frowned. If only she could make him feel better.

"The new read-offs look very promising!" she said in a more cheerful tone as Reed shook his head, not satisfied with his work.

"Not promising enough."

"When are the next tests?" Susan asked curiously as a heavy feeling began to weigh itself in Reed's chest. He sighed as he glanced up at the blonde woman.

"..I've run out of plants…so I was thinking..maybe…" he looked up at a Susan with a very familiar worried gaze. Her brows furrowed as her stomach began to twist. "There's always…me."

"No," Susan immediately answered as Reed shook his head. "It's too soon."

"..I should get back to work," the stretchy man said, deciding to avoid any further conversation about the subject; he had already made up his mind. Susan shook her head as she set her papers on the desk and walked over to Reed.

"You need a break."

"Sue, please, not now."

"Come on," she insisted as she grab the man by the arm and made him stand to his feet. Reed gave her a tired looked but smiled as Susan smiled at him.

"Lets go."

* * *

A small diner on the corner of a street kept it's customer's happy, the people eating and chatting amongst themselves. Conversations stopped as an abnormally loud burp filled the air.

"Excuse me," a low and gruff voice said as the waitress chuckled, nodding her head and taking the empty plate. Glancing up at the man across the table from him, Ben grab his cup and took a loud sip of it, trying to annoy Victor. That didn't work.

"I know it's not easy. Life hasn't changed much for Reed, Sue, Johnny, or Lily. At least they can still go out in public," Victor pointed out. Ben stared at his companion, not understanding the direction of the conversation. "But for you-"

"If you're trying to make me feel better, it ain't working," Ben said, wanting his conversation with Victor to just end.

"I'm just saying, I know what it feels like to lose something that you love. To see it slip away and know it's never coming back," he said, trying his best to push the orange man over his limit.

"Look, Reed is gonna fix me up, ok?" Ben said, putting all of his faith and trust into his best friend. Victor gave Ben a small smirk as he shook his head slightly.

"For our sake, I hope you're right," he replied, sighing slightly.

If he could win an award for best actor, he would have won it.

"I trust he's working as hard as he can, you're his best friend, so what possible reason could he have for taking his time," Victor said, hiding the evil intent in his eyes. Ben began to think as Victor's words slowly and unwilling fully sank into his mind. He could hear Victor echoing in his ear, and he didn't like it.

"I mean, other than spending more time with..Sue." Victor looked up and for a moment, he and Ben had a silent conversation, and at the second, Victor knew.

'_I win.'_

* * *

"Wow, this is actually pretty cool." A grin appeared on a young man's face as he made his way down the sidewalk, receiving fan calls from here and there. He chuckled as he waved at a few fans and shook his head, turning his attention back to the proto-type toy in his hands.

"It's pretty accurate too," Johnny mumbled to himself as he pressed the small button on the back.

"_It's clobbering time!" _

The fire wielder laughed to himself as he glanced up at the sky, the storm finally over. His smile faded slightly as he glanced at a puddle on the ground. Somewhere, deep in his soul, he was begging for the guilty filling his stomach to go away.

_"You are a pathetic excuse for a person and a friend, __**especially**__ a friend."_

"Ugh!" Johnny shook his head as he rubbed the back of it. He sighed as he felt his spirit dropping slightly.

"_I actually tried to stick up for you!"_

"Ok, I get it! I screwed up!" Johnny snapped to no one in particular. He rubbed his face as he pulled his cell phone out. He hesitated for a moment, not sure what he was going to do or say. He shook his head and as he went to dial his friend's phone number he stopped, hearing the sound of a familiar voice. The faint sound of someone laughing caught Johnny's attention as he looked over and his eyes brightened a bit.

"Lily," he mumbled as he began to walk towards his friend. As he went to call out her name, he stopped, his brows furrowing.

"Travis? You ready to go?" Lily smiled back at her new friend as the young man nodded his head. The young woman watched as Travis paid for both of their meals and she chuckled, shaking her head. Surprisingly enough, she was actually enjoying herself much more than she had expected she would. She had mostly forgotten about her earlier troubles and was happy to be able to breathe again. She sighed and glanced up at the sky, slightly disappointed that the rain had stopped.

'…_What's this feeling?' _Lily glanced around as she sought out for the pair of eyes she felt on her. She raised a brow as she saw a familiar face in the crowd. Her eyes widened as she took a step forward.

"Johnny?" Her breath hitched as she watched her friend stare at her with a defeated look in his eyes. She blinked as she made a step to cross the street but stopped.

"Lily?" Said woman stopped in her tracks as she looked back at her almost forgotten friend with a surprised look. "What are you doing?" Travis asked as Lily glanced back over in Johnny's direction. Her eyes softened as she found the man gone from his spot across the street. She stared for a moment longer before forcing a smile and shaking her head.

"Nothing, everything's fine."

* * *

'_Who is that guy, anyways?' _Johnny shook his head as his hand balled up into a fist. _'He looks like a complete chump if you ask me...' _Johnny snapped in his head. As he stomped down the sidewalk, he couldn't help but frown more. He slowly came to a stop, looking back in Lily's direction.

* * *

"You sure everything's ok?" Travis asked as Lily smiled up at him and nodded.

"Yup! Why wouldn't it be?" Lily said as convincingly as possible. The brunette hesitated but nodded, taking Lily's word. As the black haired woman let her friend go on ahead, she turned around, hoping to see the person she'd been doing her best to avoid all day. She stared for a moment longer with a forlorn look on her face before turning back around.

"…Too bad."


	13. Chapter 13

Hey everyone! Here's the second to last chapter! It's actually coming to an end =( But not to worry! I will definitely be writing a sequel so when that comes out feel free to read it if you'd like! I hope you enjoy this one guys! If you have anything to say message me or give the story a review! I'm more than willing to listen!

* * *

**Ignite**

_Chapter Thirteen: Together We Stand Part One_

_BEEP BEEP BEEP_

'_Ok, Reed. It's now or never.' _As the stretchable man stood before his cure or his death, he couldn't help but feel the fear inside of him build up.

Everything was sitting on this one shot, and if he didn't make things work now, what was going to happen? The whole situation had been caused because of his mistakes, and it was time for Reed to take responsibility for his actions, whether anyone agreed with him or not.

Taking a deep breath, Reed mustered up all of the courage inside of himself and walked into the chamber that would decide his fate. As the doors to the chamber closed, Reed closed his eyes, praying to God that just once, his work would pay off.

"Here goes everything."

* * *

"Wow, I have to say, I haven't felt this relaxed in ages!" Lily laughed as she stretched, letting all of her troubles disappear. She stood on the rooftop of a building as she smiled at the city lights. Travis stood beside her as he glanced at her and smiled.

"I'm glad you feel better," he stated. Lily smiled nodding her head, but it faded as she remember the look on Johnny's face just a few hours ago. The life in her face disappeared as she grew quiet. Travis frowned as he stared at Lily for a moment.

"…It was on TV, you know."

"What was?"

"What happened earlier," Travis said as Lily avoided the man's gaze.

"Was it?"

"You're upset because of the Human Torch, right?"

"You mean Johnny?" Lily asked, not really used to hearing Johnny being called by his hero name. Lily chuckled as she shook her head, sighing. "I suppose that's the reason. When I look at it, there's no other way to describe why I feel like this," she said as she frowned more. She rubbed the back of her head and laughed.

"I was never really like this, before all of this happened."

'_Before I met him,' _she thought weakly as she shook his head.

"…But you do now, that's all the matters," Travis retorted. Lily blinked at the remark as Travis smiled at her.

"If you're bothered so much, you should go back and fix everything as best as you can," he gently advised, as if he were a wise, old man. Lily thought for a moment, letting his words sink in, and smiled as she turned and began to walk away.

"Thank you, Travis," she said as she looked over her shoulder. "It was nice meeting you."

Travis watched as Lily disappeared from the rooftop. He smiled and sighed, shaking his head. "It was nice meeting you too."

* * *

"Ok, first thing, I need to find Ben and definitely apologize to him for what I said…" Lily shook her head as she sighed, walking down the street. Making her way towards her home, she made a list of things to do when she arrived back at Reed's apartment.

"After I talk to Sue, I'll find John-" she stopped mid-sentence as well as mid-step. She frowned as she shook her head.

What was the point in talking to Johnny? After what happened between the two, it was obvious that he wasn't going to say anything to her, and what did she even have to say to him in the first place? She had already said everything she needed to say to him at the motorbike stadium. '_..That's a lie,' _the woman thought to herself as she blushed, biting her lip.

She hadn't told him why she was so upset at him, the **real** reason. She hadn't expressed her feelings and she had definitely not asked what he felt. She had so much to tell him, yet nothing at all. She had to tell him how much he irritated her, yet she loved every moment of being with him. She had to express how much she appreciated his friendship, but sincerely wanted to kill him sometimes. All of her pent of feelings and words, she wanted to tell him everything and be honest with him, but as she stood in the middle of the sidewalk, staring down at a puddle, she stared at her reflection and shook her head.

'_I can't do it,' _she thought to herself as she frowned. The fear inside of her soul was too strong to overcome at the moment. Her usual confidence and pride had disappeared somewhere and that frightened her a bit. Lily was never the type of woman to back down and she was never the type of person to let her emotions blind her, yet there she stood, a conflicted look etched on her face.

"Why does my life have to be so annoyingly complicated?"

"If it wasn't, then it wouldn't be as fun." Lily's eyes widened as she span around. Her heart skipped a beat as she stared at the person she was most afraid to confront.

"Johnny?" Lily said as said man nodded his head. He had changed outfits from the last time she had seen him and was now wearing a black shirt with a red blazer over it. The outfit seemed to fit him well, complimenting every feature he had, at least in the water controller's eyes.

Remembering the past day's events, Lily's forgotten anger had risen once again as she glared at him, taking a step away.

"Lily-"

"What are you doing here? Don't you have some _higher calling _to answer?" she snapped as Johnny frowned. It wasn't going to be easy to gain her forgiveness this time around. The young man sighed as he rubbed the back of his head, remembering the awful feeling of being out of place and alone at the bar he had just left. He looked up at Lily and his eyes softened as he realized just how grateful he was to see a friendly face, especially hers.

"…Yeah, well, it turns out that the higher calling? Wasn't so great."

Lily stared at him for a moment as he gave her a pleading gaze. Johnny stared intently at his friend, waiting for some kind of sign of forgiveness, that was all he really wanted out of the entire night. "…That's too bad," Lily mumbled as she turned to walk away. She frowned to herself as she shook her head, she hadn't said anything she wanted to, but she just couldn't, she couldn't bring herself to say it.

Johnny's eyes widened for a moment before he reached out instinctively and grabbed her hand. Lily stared with shock as his hand held tightly to hers, almost as if he were afraid to let go of it. He sighed, knowing that unless he said something, Lily would walk away and not look back.

"Look…I get it," Johnny started. He took a deep breath, continuing on with his speech, "I screwed up."

Lily glared at him as he sighed. "Ok, I screwed up _big time_," he said, emphasizing on 'big'. "I was a jerk…a huge one."

"…And?"

"Seriously?"

"_And_?"

"…Alright, I was a complete asshole, is that better?"

Lily laughed slightly as Johnny smiled releasing her hand. The two stood, a strange tingling sensation running through their arms, starting from the tips of their fingers. Johnny stood silently as he waited for his best friend to say something. The silence was slowly tearing him apart and the longer Lily stood quietly, the more Johnny suffocated.

"..I guess that's fine," Lily said gently as Johnny's eyes softened. His smile disappeared as he sighed, shaking his head. He looked up at the raven haired woman with an ashamed look on his face as he took a step closer to her.

"…I really am-"

"I know you are," Lily said, saving him the pain of losing a bit of his pride. Johnny blinked, feeling surprised, and smiled, as Lily returned it with her own. "You know I can't really hold a grudge anyways," she said playfully. She sighed, feeling a bit better about their current status.

The two stood closer to each other and things seemed to feel right again. They could relax completely around each other and although neither would say it out loud, that feeling of being close to each other was sincerely missed. Johnny stared at the distance between the two and his eyes softened. He felt relieved as he found very little space between them. It was almost like the more distant there was between them, the more alone and out of place Johnny felt.

Suddenly, a voice broke the silence, catching the flamer thrower's full attention.

"Come on, we should probably…" Lily raised a brow as she noticed the sudden surprised and shaken look in Johnny's face. She hesitantly looked over her shoulder and her jaw dropped as she stared up at a building, Reed's apartment building to be exact. "What…" she trailed off, not having the right words to say as Johnny stared with an awestruck look on his face.

The two looked at each other before nodding. Simultaneously, they began to run at the same pace, sprinting as fast as they could towards Reed's floor.

"What the hell was that?" Johnny asked as he looked back up to see the explosion fade away. The two quickly sprinted around a corner as Lily shook her head and glanced back up at the building.

"I have no idea! The only thing it could be…" She trailed off, shaking her head. "There's no time for thinking, we have to go!"

"Right."

* * *

"Hah, Victor! It worked!" a voice exclaimed happily. A shaky figure walked out of the transformation chamber, feeling and looking like the man he once had been.

"Vic?" Ben called out once more. He looked around Reed's empty lab and raised a brow as he pulled his pants up a bit and tightened the strings around the waist. Pulling his coat on to cover his bare upper body, Ben looked around, a very bad feeling rising in his gut.

"Everyone thought I was safe behind those shields."

Ben quickly turned around and his jaw fell as he stared with a completely stunned look on his face. He took a step back as Victor revealed himself from the shadows, the scar on his face showing metal underneath his skin, along with the many other scars and burns on his body he had just received. Ben tried not to stare as steam rose from Victor's body.

"The machine worked for me, it can work for you!" Ben said hopefully as the man before him smirked, shaking his head.

"Oh, I know it worked. It worked out perfectly," he said as the feeling in Ben's gut exploded. His expression fell as he stared at Victor, piecing all of the little bits together.

"You planned this."

"I've always wanted power," Victor said, as if it were an obvious statement, "Now I have the unlimited supply."

"And no 'thing' to stand in your way."

Victor's smirk widened as he nodded his head, feeling on as if he were on top of the world. If he continued on with his plans, he could have the world in the palm of his hands, something he would really enjoy.

"Take a look, Ben," Victor said. "This is what a man looks like when he embraces his destiny."

Not having a chance to really react, Ben's eyes widened as he felt Victor back hand him with as much strength as he had once possessed before turning back to what he had thought was normal. His body collided into a bunch of shelves as he grunted in pain, hitting the ground. Victor laughed slightly, as he shook his head.

"Four more to go."

"Vic?" Said man looked up and smiled evilly.

"Right on cue."

"Ben?" Waiting for a reply, but receiving nothing, the new presence turned his attention towards Victor, examining his now mutated body. A worried look fell upon his face as he held tightly to the railings for the second floor.

"What did you do?"

"Exactly what I said I would do. I built a stronger, better being, and outsmarted the great Reed Richards."

* * *

'_Please tell me everything's ok!' _the Invisible Woman thought to herself. She quickly sprinted into Reed's apartment as she continued her way down the hall and into Reed's slightly shuffled lab. Her eyes widened as she found Ben laying on the ground, unconscious. She raised a brow as she grabbed Ben and noticed that his body had not been rock hard to the touch. She grinned as she held him in her arms and took a look at her friend. Ben's body had been changed back to it's normal state. His skin was soft and he was the same pale color he had been before the space trip. The happiness in Sue's heart began to grow as she glanced around, looking for the man she had thought was responsible for the miracle. Little did she know, her happiness would soon be crushed.

"Sue!" Said woman looked up with a wide smile on her face as she found Johnny and Lily running into the room together.

"Guys! The machine worked!" she exclaimed as both Johnny and Lily glanced at each other, curiosity filling their eyes. They quickly ran into the lab and their eyes widened as they watched Suzie try and pick up the unconscious Ben. They gave her aid, sitting Ben up as best as they possibly could. The man groaned as he winced, his body responding to the pain more easily than it would have if he had been 'The Thing'.

"You alright, Ben?" Johnny asked as the three moved the now half-conscious man to the step of the machine. "What happened, big guy?"

"Yeah, are you ok?" Lily asked as the three knelt down in front of Ben, waiting for him to respond to the best of his abilities.

"Th-The machine," he mumbled as he tried to get his breathing right. "Vic used it on himself, he was effected by the cloud like us," Ben explained as the color from their faces drained away.

"Where's Reed?" Sue asked as Ben shook his head.

"Vic must've taken him," Ben mumbled as he glanced around. His expression fell even more as he stared at the window. The three raised a brow as they followed his gaze, the question answered.

"…This is bad," Lily mumbled as Sue's heart skipped a beat. She quickly stood up and walked towards the balcony doors. Lily quickly glanced at Johnny as he nodded and followed after his older sister. The two looked up at the broken window an Sue bit her lip as she glanced down at the shards of glass.

"Ben, do you remember anything else?" Lily asked as she let the two siblings try and figure things out. Ben shook his head as he sighed, looking into Lily's eyes. Her eyes softened as she frowned and shook her head.

"I'm sorry-"

"It's alright, kid," Ben said with a smile on his face. Lily looked up at him with a surprised gaze as Ben smiled at her. "It's water under the bridge," he said as Lily laughed slightly, shaking her head.

"I said some terrible stuff, so I really, sincerely apologize for it. You know I didn't mean it and I love you."

"I know, don't sweat it too much," Ben said as playfully as he could. He winced, causing Lily to worry once again.

"Are you sure you're ok?" she asked as Ben nodded his head, trying to ignore the pain. "Ok, I'll be right back," the black haired woman said as she quickly rose to her feet, walking on to the balcony.

"Hey, guys-" she stopped and her eyes widened as she stared out. Johnny raised a brow as he looked over at Sue, who had the same confused look on her face. Suddenly, a strange noise filled the air and the siblings both turned around. Their pupils dilated as they stared at the missile heading straight towards Reed's apartment. The two women looked over at Johnny as he glanced down at himself.

"You've got to get out of here," Sue warned as Johnny quickly walked up to the railing of the balcony. He looked down, trying to ignore the intense beat of his heart. He watched as the cars drove by on the street, the distance rather alarming for him. Deciding to go with his instincts, Johnny took a few steps back, rubbing his hands together.

"I have an idea," he said as Lily raised a brow. She watched Johnny for a moment before her eyes widened.

"Johnny!" his older sister snapped as a very stern, motherly gleam appeared in Sue's eyes. "Don't even think about it."

"Never do." Without a second thought, Johnny leaped over the balcony, arms wide open. Sue and Lily both gaped as they quickly ran up to the railing, watching him fall.

"Johnny!" Sue called out as Lily bit her lip. She looked up at the missile and watched as it flew after him.

"That idiot!"

"Come on!" Johnny mumbled to himself as he glanced back at the missile. He ignored the pressure from the fall and the fact that his eyes were beginning to tear up a bit, and stared down at the inclosing street. Waiting for the right moment, he concentrated, blocking everything around him out.

"FLAME ON!"

The feeling was amazing, although he was on fire, it felt so natural for him. His clothes burned away in an instant, leaving him with his space suit, which he had turned into the Fantastic Five uniform. He could feel the breeze, though it was barely noticeable, and as he flew past the cars and the buildings he couldn't help but feel so free.

"Now." Turning his attention to the missile behind him, Johnny put his game face on. "Lets do this."

* * *

"He was right, he can fly," Lily mumbled with amazement as she smiled slightly. Sue sighed as she turned to Lily, who looked back at her and nodded her head.

"Lets go," the blond said as her companion nodded her head. The two quickly walked back into the building, Ben waiting in the doorway. He winced, trying to gather as much strength as he could.

"We need to help Reed."

"It's too dangerous for you now," Sue warned as she gave Ben's shoulders a slightly squeeze. Running past him, Sue made her way towards her room. Ben frowned as he looked over at Lily who gave him a pleading gaze.

"Please, Ben. You can't come, Sue's right," she said as she smiled softly. "Don't worry, we'll get Reed back," she said reassuringly. She quickly made her way past her friend, not looking back to see the defeated look on his face.

"What did I do?" he mumbled to himself softly. His thoughts suddenly began to work themselves as a crazy, but good, idea popped into his head. Glancing over at the transformation chamber, he smirked.

* * *

'_Alright, Johnny. Lets think of something,' _The man engulfed in flames glanced over his shoulder and shook his head as he watched the missile follow after him. _'You gotta think of something now!' _

Quickly avoiding a large skyscraper, Johnny flew higher, into the clouds, and within seconds, he shot a fire ball into the sky and turned his flames off, returning to the natural state of his body. He began to fall back down towards the city and watched as the missile followed his fireball. He inwardly sighed, a wave of relief running through him, but as he relaxed, he raised a brow, something pushing past the clouds, towards him. He watched as the missile continued to chase after him and quickly drowned himself in his flames again.

'_Well, looks like that didn't work out,' _he thought to himself as he tried to improvise another plan. Making his way towards the coast of New York City, Johnny grit his teeth as he shook his head.

"C'mon! Think!" he shouted to himself as he glanced around the water. He smirked as he found a boat carrying a load of garbage sitting peacefully in the water. Glancing one last time at the heat seeking missile, Johnny aimed a line of fire at the boat, the garbage catching on fire with ease. Going through the flames, the missile fired, colliding into the boat, causing a large explosion. Johnny's eyes widened as the force of the explosion threw him into the water.

"Whoa!" His flames were doused and he was spinning through the water uncontrollably.

'_Crap.' _


	14. Chapter 14

It's the end! X( But! Good news, I'm working on the sequel, which will be following the second movie so please keep your eye out for that! =D I've been working hard so I hope you guys enjoy this last one! Review and tell me your opinion and if you have any suggestions for the next story, go ahead and let me know, I'm more than willing to listen!

Here we go!

* * *

**Ignite**

_Chapter Fourteen: Together We Stand Part Two_

"Looks like we're here."

Sue and Lily stood in front of Victor's building, staring at the many flights. As Sue went to enter the building, Lily grabbed her by the wrist to stop her. "Wait," she said. "Let me go first," she suggested.

"What are you talking about? That-"

"Sue, you need to get Reed, but Victor's not dumb. You need a distraction," she explained. "I can be that distraction."

Sue shook her head, already rejecting the idea. "It's too danger-"

"We don't have time and we don't have the option to think of something else," Lily interrupted as she smirked at her mother-like figure. She grabbed Sue's shoulder gently, giving it a reassuring squeeze. "I'm not that little girl you used to baby-sit. You have to trust me on this one."

Before the blonde could reply, Lily concentrated, and began to float upwards. Sue's eyes followed her for a moment before a determined look appeared in her eyes. She nodded, and in an instant, she disappeared.

* * *

"Ah, two down, three to go," a deep voice said. A smirk appeared behind a metal mask as a man watched an explosion from afar. The man wore a dark forest green hooded cape, his hands and feet covered with metal gloves and boots to insure he was able to use his strength to it's abilities. "Now, all I need to do is-"

"Heads up, Vicky!"

Victor's eyes widened as he quickly span around. He grunted in pain as he felt something cold and solid slam into his body. Not having control, the mutated man flew back, slamming into the doors of his balcony. He glanced around, gathering his bearings, as shards of ice fell to the ground, melting into water.

"Oops, sorry!"

"As charming as always, Lily." Said woman concentrated as she floated in the air. Although she could not fly, the amount of water in her body gave her the ability to control it more easily.

"Victor, it's rude to try and kill people."

"It's rude to interrupt while I have plans!"

Lily's eyes widened as she quickly dodged a bolt of lightning coming from the man's hand. She somersaulted on to the balcony and winced as she hit the wall. She quickly stood to her feet as she glanced up at a pipe above the doorway. She smirked and held her hand out towards Victor. He watched, slightly surprised, as the pipe burst open and a line of water wrapped around him. He winced as he felt it squeeze tightly around him, as if it were actually solid.

"I never did like you," Lily mumbled as she swung her arm to the left slightly. Victor bit back his groan as he felt himself slam into the brick wall to his right. He squeezed his eyes shut as he did it again, against his will. Lily's eyes widened as she felt Victor fight against her water. She stumbled back slightly as her former colleague broke through her defense. He smirked and held his hand up towards her. Lily's eyes widened as she felt this sharp pain consume her. She screamed out in agony, cringing, as she fell to her knees.

"Water conducts lightning, you know," the masked man stated. "Too bad for you."

"Vi-Victor-"

"Oh, no. I'm afraid it's not Victor anymore, Lily," the man corrected. "It's Doom."

Lily's eyes widened as the pain disappeared, leaving her gasping for air as she fell to the ground. She winced, trying to sit up, but found no strength at all. Her eyes widened as she listened to the sound of Doom's boots against the floor. Trying her best to crawl away, the water bender winced, her body still trying to recover from the strong shock waves. Her body trembled uncontrollably as she looked up at Victor, glaring as best as she could.

"Ah, ah, ah. Not so fast." Doom smirked underneath his mask as he reached out and grabbed Lily roughly by the back of her collar. She coughed, not expecting the tug on her throat, and tried to wiggle free from Doom's grip, her feet dangling helplessly.

"St-Stop!" Lily exclaimed as she tried to struggle against Doom's grip. Her eyes widened as he dangled her over the edge of the balcony, the city lights and cars seeming farther away than Lily had remembered them.

"Have a good flight." Lily released a shrill scream as she began to plummet towards the ground. Victor watched with satisfaction and laughed slightly.

"Fool."

'_Concentrate!' _Lily squeezed her eyes shut as she tried to focus on her body, but failed to. Not having enough control or power, she couldn't stop herself from falling. All she could do was await for whatever was to happen. Glancing over her shoulder, Lily gave an exasperated expression, the ground inching closer by ever second.

"Crap!" she snapped to herself, running out of ideas. She shook her head, feeling defeated as she closed her eyes. "I'm sorry-"

Her eyes snapped open as she felt a pair of stone like arms catch her with ease, a deep grunt filling the air. She blinked, trying to compose herself as she looked around and noticed the eyes of many surprised civilians around her. She took deep breaths, trying to catch it, and jumped as a voice called out to her.

"Looks like I came at the right time."

* * *

'_I-I've got t-t-to get out of here..' _A frozen Mr. Fantastic sat in a chair, unable to escape, and shook from the falling temperature. He tried to move, make himself break through Victor's trap, but failed to, his body completely frozen at this point. Suddenly, the sound of the lever controlling the gas turning filled Reed's ears as he glanced to the side as best as he could. He saw nothing, but he could feel someone in front of him. He glanced down at his wrist bindings and watched as they unbuckled, releasing his hands.

"S-Sue-"

"Ssh," said woman commanded quietly as her eyes softened. She was thankful Reed couldn't seen her or else she may have broke down on the spot. "What has he done to you?"

"How romantic."

Susan gasped slightly as she appeared before Reed, turning around to face a masked Victor. Although she couldn't see it well, the man glared at the two, ready to take his full revenge.

"Victor, please," Sue said as she carefully walked closer to the man.

"Call me Doom," he demanded as Susan shook her head, trying to keep the small amount of hope she had left inside of her.

"The machine works," she stated. "It worked on Ben, it can work on you!"

As the two conversed with each other, Reed tried to gain his movement back. As he did so, he raised a brow or would have raised a brow, and watched as a blinding flash appeared from his apartment floor. '_What in the world…'_

"Victor, you always thought you were a God," Sue said shortly as she narrowed her eyes as the so called Doom. "Back. off."

"Susan. Lets not fight," Doom said as the blonde smirked.

"No, lets." The woman sent a wave of her energy towards Doom and watched as the man stumbled back and everything behind him shattered.

"Susan," Doom warned. "You're fired!" he snapped as he sent of line of electricity towards her. Susan gasped slightly as she felt a wave of pain run through her body. She flew into the air and hit the wall, hard, falling on to antiques Victor had and shattering them. Shaking her head, Susan tried to shrug the pain off, and watched as Doom made his way dangerously towards her. Concentrating on her emotions, she disappeared from sight and as silently as possible, she stood to her feet.

Victor sighed as he began to grow tired of the games. He glanced around the area, trying to control his patience, and listened closely, trying to find any sort of sign of Susan.

"Marco," he said darkly as he took a quiet step forward.

Sue's heart beat rapidly against her chest as she held her breath, too afraid that even the smallest sigh would catch the man's attention. Taking a moment to gather her courage, Susan aimed more energy at Doom, catching him off guard. He stumbled back but gained his footing again, holding his hand out and aiming a shock wave at the woman. She grunted in pain, not able to move, and Victor smirked as he grabbed Sue roughly by the neck. He squeezed, finding satisfaction run through him as he did so. All of his pent up emotions and anger began to flood out towards Sue as he squeezed even more, ready to take the plunge.

"Did you say goodbye to your brother, Johnny? Did you remember to give your last parting words to Lily?" Doom asked as Sue's blue eyes widened, her form reappearing in Doom's hand. She gasped for air and winced as Doom threw her across the room. She landed with a 'thud' beside Reed, who sat helplessly, trying to move as best as he could. He glanced down at her as Sue looked up at him, asking for his forgiveness in her eyes. His eyes softened as he tried to think of a way out of the horrible and frightening situation.

What could he possibly do? Alone he could barely protect himself, let along Susan as well. Without his friends, his loved ones by his side, he was helpless, but he couldn't give up. Not over his dead bead.

"It's time to end this," Doom said darkly as he took a few steps towards the two. Before he could go through his with attack, everyone's eyes widened, the wall behind Victor coming down.

"No, Vic."

Doom's eyes widened as he stared at Ben, only this time he wasn't human. It was the mutated Ben, the stronger Ben. The Thing.

"It's clobberin' time!" Pulling his fist back, Ben thrust it forward as hard as he could, giving Victor a punch of his lifetime. The man grunted as he flew back into the wall. He fell to the ground, not able to move much, and without a chance, Victor's large metal frame fell on top of him, hindering him from any sort of movement whatsoever.

"Damn, I've been waitin' to do that," Ben said to himself as he smirked, quite proud of his work he had just created. Susan smiled as she watched the rock like Ben quickly walk up to her.

"You ok?" he asked as the woman nodded her head. Standing to her feet. Ben quickly turned his attention to Reed with a playful smirk on his face.

"Victor ain't that bad, you said," he commented teasingly, and had Reed been able to move, let alone talk, he would have agreed with his friend. The two quickly worked to free Reed as Ben continued to lecture the stretchable man. "Maybe you'll listen to me next time-" Ben stopped and the three looked around as the lights on the floor shut off completely. They quickly looked around in the dark, trying to solve the strange mishap. Suzie looked over her shoulder and her eyes widened as she found a dark shadow sprinting towards her friend.

"Ben!" she exclaimed as said man followed her gaze. Too slow to react, Ben quickly braced himself as he felt a body shove him backwards. Stumbling over his feet, Ben wrapped his arms around his attacker, making sure to keep a strong grip.

Sue watched with fear as Doom and Ben broke through the window, tumbling towards the street.

"S-Sue."

The blonde's eyes widened as she quickly turned her attention to a slowly defrosting Reed. Her eyes lightened up as she knelt down and grabbed an arm of Reed's. Looping it around her shoulder, she helped the man stand as she gave him a concerned look. "Reed."

"W-We…We have t-to help…Ben," the scientist stuttered out as coherently as possible. Sue hesitated but stopped as she stared into Reed's brown eyes and found a glint of determination and dedication in his eyes. The gleam gave Sue the confidence she needed as she nodded her head.

"Right."

* * *

"I knew I could always count on Ben!" Lily smiled to herself as she carefully landed on the ground, the large, wooden dock being her landing. She quickly ran up to the edge, looking out towards the sea. She bit her lips as she searched for any sign of life the in the water. Her eyes widened as she found a boat, smoke rising from the ashes of whatever had set it on fire. Biting her lip, Lily looked around, trying to figure out some sort of plan to get to the boat. She glanced at the water and an idea popped into her head. She smirked as she closed her eyes, concentrating on the water. She took a deep breath and walked off the deck, stumbling into the water. Waiting for her head to be under water, Lily held her breath, but raised an eyebrow. She opened her eyes and she laughed, feeling astonished at herself. She shook her head as she stood on the water, almost afraid that if she moved even an inch, she'd fall in. Calming herself down, Lily slowly took a step forward and found herself still above the water. Smirking, she began to walk, the slow pace turning into a sprint as she kept her eyes glued to the boat.

'_Johnny, you big idiot, you better be ok.'_ Lily quickly approached the sizzling ship and using a platform of water, leaped on to the boat with no problems. She landed in a pile of ashes and coughed, fanning the smoke from her face. She glanced around, squinting through the smoke, and quickly began to call out for her teammate.

"Johnny! Johnny, answer me!" she shouted as she began to search the completely toasted ship. Her heart began to pound loudly against her chest as a knot began to form in the pit of her stomach. Her breathing became slightly uneven as her vision began to blur. "Johnny? Come on, this isn't funny!" she snapped as the fear she had been pushing away began to surface. Biting her lip, she found herself right where she had started, Johnny still missing. Letting her emotions get the best of her, Lily began to frantically search through the water, looking around for any sign of movement.

"John-" Lily came to an abrupt as she caught a glimpse of some sort of blob caught in the waves of the sea. Her eyes widened as she jumped off the boat and landed gracefully on the water.

"JOHNNY!" she screamed as she sprinted towards the body floating motionlessly in the current. Quickly kneeling next to the floating body, Lily did her best to pull the unconscious man's upper body out of the water. She held him tightly in her arms as she tried to wake him.

"Johnny? Johnny, it's me!" Lily said as she gave his cheek a couple soft slaps. Her breath hitched as she found no response. "Johnny, please! Wake up," she commanded as she waited for the prankster to snap awake and laugh at her reaction. As she waited and waited for Johnny's snarky remarks, she realized she would not be receiving any comment unless she did something.

Thinking on her feet, Lily quickly opened Johnny's mouth and let her hand hover over it. Taking a few deep breaths, she calmed her nerves down, returning to her more mature and collected self.

"You have one shot," she said to herself as she concentrated. As if she were holding a string in her hand, Lily began to pull her hand up and as she did so, a string of water began to follow her hand. Waiting for a few more second, Lily opened her eyes and watched as the line of water stopped, all of it out of Johnny's lungs. Lily waited impatiently, wanting Johnny to wake up.

"…Johnny?" she whispered as the man laid in her arms, unmoving. Her eyes grew hot as warm tears started to overflow in her eyes. She bit her lip as she tried not to cry. She shook her head, holding her best friend tightly in her arms.

"Please.." she mumbled as she began to cry. "I need you here, I need you to stand by me," she said as she coughed on one of her sobs. "What are Sue and Reed and Ben going to do without you? What…What am I going to do without you here?"

If only she had been a few seconds faster, if only she had gone off to help Johnny instead of fight Victor. There was no second chance, she couldn't save him no matter how hard she tried. She still had so much to tell him, so much to show him.

"I'm sorry," she whispered as she dug her head into the nook of his neck.

"N-No…No need." Lily's eyes snapped open as she sat up and stared at her assumed dead friend. "Lets…Lets just say we're even."

"Johnny!" Lily exclaimed as the tired looking young man smiled weakly, coughing up a bit more water. He looked up into her tear stained eyes and frowned at the sight.

"Sorry," he mumbled as he tried to gain his strength as quickly as possible. "I didn't mean to make you worry."

"Yet somehow, you always do," Lily snapped playfully as she smiled, wiping her own tears from her eyes and cheeks. Johnny chuckled softly as he leaned against Lily's chest, finding her arms warm and comfortable. He closed his eyes for a moment, wanting to drown in her scent and touch.

"Are you alright?" Lily asked quietly as Johnny nodded his head.

"Just give me a second," he said as Lily hesitated, but nodded. She sat quietly as Johnny relaxed for a moment in her arms. There was no place else he would rather be and for the first time in his life, he wasn't afraid. In that long moment, he embraced the strange feelings he had been running from, and he couldn't have been happier.

"Thank you."

Lily stared at the man, completely shocked, and slowly nodded as she smiled. "Don't thank me, who else would come and clean up after you?"

Johnny opened an eye and looked up at Lily as she smirked down at him. He returned the expression with his own smirk and sighed, nodding his head. Lily stood to her feet as she helped the flame thrower stand to his own feet. Concentrating hard, Lily solidified the water underneath Johnny's feet, making sure he would stay above water this time around.

Feeling a bit more up to par, Johnny looked over at Lily with a determined look in his eyes and nodded his head. Her smirked widened as she nodded her head as well.

"You ready?"

"Lets do this."

* * *

"This is the police! Put your hands up and step down from the vehicle!"

The civilians of New York watched with interest and fear as a hooded man, no, a hooded demon made his way out of the back of a truck. Curious eyes stayed glued to the man as sparks of electricity went off everywhere on the mutated person.

'_Oh boy.' _Ben watched Doom carefully, glancing around at the many innocent people at the scene. He turned his attention to the police officers for a moment before an uneasy filling began to well up inside of him. '_They aren't gonna be able to take him.' _He was right. He watched with shock as Doom aimed a bolt of lightning towards a police care. Everyone ducked for cover as the car burst into flames, exploding. That caused the people to frantically run like mice.

"Take him out!"

Victor rolled his eyes as he watched the officers make futile attempts to destroy him. He turned his whole body towards them and shook his head as he smirked under his metallic mask. '_Fools.' _

"Ladies, I'm gonna need to borrow your car," Ben said as he kept his gaze glued to his enemy. The two ladies Ben had _run into_ gave him a worried look, the whole incident a bit too much for them to handle.

"It sticks!"

"Not gonna be a problem!" Ben grunted out as he used his strength and threw the car at the unsuspecting Doom. The Thing watched, slightly impressed with his work, as the car collided into Doom, sending him into a bus. He watched as the force of the car caused the bus to skid back a bit, hitting a light post. Deciding to ignore that and deal with one problem at a time, Ben kept his eyes on the bus, waiting for any sign of life. He growled slightly as he watched Doom walk out of the bus, fixing the collar of his jacket. '_He just doesn't know when to give up,' _he snapped to himself. He began to sprint towards the villain as a determined look appeared on his stone-like face.

Doom watched with entertainment as the man continued to sprint towards him. Glancing around, he smirked, kicking the broken light post up. He caught with ease and span around as Ben continued to come closer.

'_Home.'_

_THUNK_

'_Run.'_ Doom watched as he hit Ben dead on and sent a wave of electricity through the post. Ben shouted in pain as he flew back couple of feet, skidding to a stop. He groaned, finding little strength left in his body after that hit. '_Good, stay down,' _Doom thought to himself as he walked dangerously closer to Ben. He adjusted the post in his arm and stopped in front of the man, ready to aim and fire. As he pulled his arm back, ready to go in for the shot, a voice stopped him.

"I can't let you do that."

'_Wonderful.'_ Doom slowly looked over his shoulder and an irritated look appeared on his face, though no one could see it behind his mask. He stared at Reed as Mr. Fantastic gave him a warning look. He laughed a bit as he shook his head, turning his attention back to Ben.

"I'll be right with you." As he pulled the post back, he didn't notice the small smirk on Ben's face. He thrust the post forward, but found it forced to a stop. He pushed harder and growled as he saw the blue tinted force field protected the man. Growing tired of the games, Victor turned around and glared at Susan as she stood beside Reed, glaring right back at him. He shook his head as he began to walk towards the two.

"You three are pa-" He was abruptly stopped as he stumbled back a bit, his metal suit growing quite warm. The four looked up in the sky and watched as a burning man flew towards them, a woman holding tightly to his hands, unaffected by the fire. Releasing each other, the raven haired woman stumbled forward slightly, landing on the ground in one piece. She smirked as she glanced to her right, Johnny turning his flames off.

Victor glared more as his anger began to grow inside of him, becoming almost uncontainable.

"You missed me," Johnny stated as he glanced at the others. Ben quickly stood to his feet and walked over to Reed, standing beside his best friend. The five looked at each other, feeling the best they ever had been in a very long time. It was as if things had fallen back into place, as long as they stood together, nothing could get in their way. As long as they had each other to lean on, nothing else mattered.

"Sorry, Vic," Lily said as she gave the man an almost dark, but innocent, smile. "I had to pick up a friend," she stated as she looked over at Johnny, he smirked at her. The Human torch took a deep breath as he looked over at Ben, the stone like face almost more familiar to him than Ben's human face. He smiled and nodded his head, turning his attention to Doom.

"Welcome back."

"Well," Doom cut in as he held his arms out. "Looks like this is going to be fun."

The Fantastic Five watched as Doom stared up at the sky, pulling in as much energy as he could. Strong bolts of lightning began to spurt out from his body as he began to cause debris to fall from buildings. Windows broke as cars burst, people running to escape the chaos. Victor smirked as he began to walk towards the five. He aimed a lightning bolt at Johnny, sending the boy to the ground. Ben growled and took a step, but also flew back as a bolt hit him. Victor tilted his head as he stopped a few feet away from Lily. She took a step back, keeping her eyes pasted on him. He chuckled quietly as he held his hand up to her. The raven haired girl's eyes widened as she yelled out, a painful shock coursing through her body. Victor laughed slightly as he took a few more steps closer to Lily. Not able to stand the pain and pressure, she flew back and hit the ground, groaning loudly. She coughed as her body trembled, her breath as shaky as it had ever been.

"Lily!" Susan shouted as she took a step towards the girl. Her blue eyes widened as she turned her attention towards Doom and blocked his electricity with her shield. She winced as she tried to push back against his attack. She slid back a bit as her head began to spin and her arm began to quiver.

"I can't hold it!" she exclaimed as she squeezed her eyes shut.

'_I have to do something.'_ Reed quickly glanced around, his brain quickly coming up with a plan of action. Extending his arm out, Reed wrapped his rubbery arm around a mailbox. Tugging roughly on it, it detached from the ground and he threw it into Doom. The man stumbled back as Susan stumbled a bit, relaxing for the moment.

'_Reed,'_ Victor hissed in his head.

Not wasting any time, Reed stretched his body into a wheel, spinning towards the slightly surprised Doom. Waiting for the right moment, Reed sprang up and stretched his entire body out like he were a blanket. Doom helplessly tried to defend himself, but his powers were weak against rubber like substances. Reed quickly covered the man and looked over at Johnny, who gained his footing back and quickly looked over at Reed.

"Supernova!" the scientist called out. Johnny hesitated as he gave the man a confused look.

"I thought we agreed that was bad!"

"Now!" Reed commanded as he felt Victor trying to break free from his hold. Without a word, Johnny did as he was told, immediately turning his flames on. He used a running head start and pushed off the ground, flying into the air.

'_Here we go.'_

Reed looked over at Ben as the man nodded his head, holding his hands out. The black haired man stretched out towards Ben and grabbed a hold of his hands.

"Gotcha," Ben grunted as he tugged roughly. The rest of Reed caught up to him as he returned to his normal form, leaving a rather confused Victor.

"What-" Doom's eyes widened as he watched The Human Torch fly around him at an amazing speed. He raised a brow as he felt this suffocating heat consume him.

"Sue!" Said blonde looked over at Reed as he looked back at her. "You think you can contain it?"

'_Only one way to find out.' _Susan concentrated and thrust her body forward, creating a force field surrounding the tornado like flames.

"Wow.." Lily slowly walked over towards Ben as the two watched the sight before them. It was nothing like they had ever seen before, such danger could bring such beauty. Ben looked over at Lily as the woman looked over at him and they both gave a satisfied smile.

"Flame on, kid."

"AH!" Victor began to lose his composure as he began to aimlessly try and hit Johnny. He had never been so hot in his entire life; it was as if he was going to melt away into nothing but a little puddle.

'_Just a bit more.' _Sue winced as she ignored the droplets of blood slipping down her nose. She pushed herself more, knowing that if she didn't people's lives could be at risk.

'_I can't do this anymore.' _Johnny winced as he found himself growing hot from his own body. He quickly turned the flames off, falling to the ground and rolling to a stop. Sue sighed as she relaxed, letting the shield fall.

The flames around Doom began to die down as everyone stared at a completely metallic man. He shined like the sun, the silver of his body catching everyone's attention.

"Is that the best you can do?" he hissed out as he tried to ignore the pain and the heat. Reed smirked as he glanced over at the former chemistry teacher. She glanced back at him and smirked, nodding her head.

"Time for you lesson," Reed stated. "Chem. 101. What happens when you rapidly cool hot metal?"

"Ben, if you'd do me the honors?" Lily said as she smiled sweetly at the man. Ben smirked as he nodded his head and stomped over towards a fire hydrant. He picked the top off and Lily smirked at Victor, who quickly turned to face her.

"Have a nice swim, asshole." Lily thrust both of her arms forward as she controlled the spurting water from the hydrant. Victor's eyes widened as he watched a wave of water collide into him. He was in so much pain; first he had been burning hot, and now he was unnaturally cold; he couldn't take it.

As Lily continued to concentrate, everyone else watched as fumes began to appear, blocking any sort of view of Victor. Reed stood silently, praying to God that his plan had succeeded, just that one time.

Wincing from the strain, Lily fell to her knees, the water leaving her control and returning to bursting into the sky. Ben quickly squeezed the top shut, looking back at Victor. The five waited anxiously for the mist to clear, hoping for the best. As the fumes disappeared, they all relaxed, Doom existing no more.

"Whoa..." Ben mumbled to himself as he slowly made his way over to Johnny. The boy sighed as relief ran through his entire being. He relaxed, placing his hands on his hips, and turned around, feeling a hand on his shoulder. He smiled slightly as he and Ben shared a silent conversation.

"..You did good, kid," he stated as Johnny shook his head silently laughing. He gave Ben a pat on the back as the two turned to Lily.

"Whew, I'm glad that's finally over."

"That makes two of us," a familiar voice said. Lily looked up and smiled as she watched Johnny hold his hand out to her. She stared at it for a moment before she chuckled and held it in her own. Standing to her feet, Lily sighed, dusting herself off. She looked back up at Johnny as he gave her a sincere smile. Her eyes softened as she shook her head. She walked into him and wrapped her arms around him, finding no words to say. Johnny blinked, slightly surprised at the woman's actions, but returned the gesture by wrapping his arms tightly around her as well. He closed his eyes and sighed, squeezing her tightly as Lily chuckled, hiding her face in his chest.

How could something completely crazy and out of the question feel so right? Being in Johnny's arms was an amazing feeling for Lily; she loved every second of it. But, as the saying goes; all good things must come to an end.

Listening to the sound of Johnny's slightly quickened heart beat, the dark haired woman pulled away, too afraid of what would happen if she stayed there any longer. Johnny clenched his mouth shut, forcing himself to hide the frown he was about to reveal from the loss of Lily's touch.

"C'mon," Johnny said as Lily took a second to gather her composure. She smiled and nodded as Johnny wrapped an arm around her shoulders. She leaned into him, wrapping an arm around his waist as they made their way towards the others.

'_Everyone's safe.' _Reed smiled to himself as he helped Sue stand to her feet. She stared into his eyes and for a moment, nothing else mattered. He smiled slightly as she returned the favor with her own. Before he could say anything, he felt a pat on the back of his shoulders. He turned around and smiled more as he found Johnny, Lily, and Ben standing before him. They smiled proudly at him as he nodded his head.

That's when the five noticed the cheering.

"Man, I love this job," Johnny muttered as he smiled out at the safe civilians. Feeling a bit accomplished Johnny smiled. Ben glanced at the boy as he smirked slightly, shaking his head.

"Job, huh?"

"Well, we _do _have the suits," Reed pointed out playfully as he and Johnny chuckled a bit. The cheering grew louder as the five smiled at each other, turning towards the crowd. The joy from everyone's eyes made the mood light as the people cheered on.

"Everyone." The four looked over at Reed as he gave them all a tired but happy smile. "Lets go home."

* * *

"Alicia, you have to tell me where you get your shoes!" The women laughed as they stood around a bar, underneath a sign that said "Thank you, Fantastic Five!" Lily smiled at Alicia, one of Ben's _friends, _as Susan chuckled, a wide smile on her face.

"Here are your drinks, ladies," the bar tender said as he kindly disbursed each drink to each lady. The dark woman laughed as she shook her head.

"I don't think I need any more."

"Just one more!" Sue said with a playful smile as Lily nodded her head.

"Trust me, it'll be worth it!" The three laughed again and Sue and Alicia quickly found themselves locked in a conversation. Lily listened half-heartedly as she glanced around the yacht.

After saving New York City from what would have been a disaster caused by Doom, a party had been organized on behalf of the newly made superhero team, The Fantastic Five. Many people had been boarded on the boat for the party, the weather being perfect for sailing.

Lily smiled happily as she took a sip of her drink. Although this hadn't been her planned happy ending, it was close enough for now. She glanced over at her knucklehead friend and rolled her eyes with a smile as she watched him swoon the ladies like he always did.

'_He'll never change,' _she thought as she smiled. _'But that's ok. That's what makes him Johnny, I guess.'_

"Cheers, ladies," Johnny smirked as he watched his five companions down their shots with ease. He took a quick glances around the room and stopped as his eyes landed on his favorite person, though he would never admit that out loud, of course.

"Ladies, I'll be right back. Just sit tight and get those numbers down for me!" Johnny waved a bit as he set his shot glass down and made his way through the crowd. He stood at the bar table, but raised a brow as he found his target missing. He scratched the back of his head, but smirked as he found what he had been looking for. He headed towards the staircase of the yacht and walked up the stairs, closing the door behind himself.

'_Ah, peace and quiet.' _Lily smiled as she stood out on the terrace of the boat. She leaned on to the railing and closed her eyes, enjoying the breeze.

"I see someone's had a bit too much to drink."

Lily chuckled as she rolled her eyes, turning around to face her intruder. "Don't you have _friends_ to attend to?"

"What does it look like I'm doing?"

Lily blinked as she watched Johnny walk up beside her. He leaned back against the railing and smiled at the sky, glancing at his friend.

"Things turned out alright, didn't they," he said as Lily smiled and nodded her head, standing next to him.

"I'd say so," she agreed as Johnny nodded his head. They stood in a comfortable silence, letting the sound and people drown away.

"…You know, I really am sorry about before."

Lily sighed as she shook her head, ready to intervene in the conversation. "It's fi-"

"Ah, ah, ah," Johnny interrupted. "I have to get this off my chest," he stated as Lily hesitated, but nodded, letting him continue.

"You were right, I was an awful person and an awful friend."

"Johnny-"

"Let me finish," he asked as he stared into Lily's eyes. "..Please," he said quietly. Lily's eyes softened as she nodded.

"No matter how many times I say it, I just don't feel like you get it," he started. "I'm sorry. I'm honestly really sorry," he said. Lily smiled as she nodded her head, accepting his apology.

"From here on out, I'm going to be better," he stated, surprising Lily. "I'm gonna be a friend you can count on," he said as Lily smiled painfully.

'_Just a friend.' _

Johnny raised a brow as he watched Lily try and smile. Before he could ask her what the problem was, Lily spoke up.

"You already are a friend I can count on," she stated as she reached up and gave his shoulder a gentle squeeze. Johnny smiled as she did the same.

"Come on, lets get back," Lily said as she gave Johnny a playful smile. "You have _fans_ waiting."

"Hah, I'm going to have way too much fun with this."

Lily watched as Johnny went on ahead, walking back into the yacht. Her smile disappeared as she shook her head, glancing out at the water one last time.

'_It's better this way,' _she thought to herself as she stood up, making her way towards the door. _'I'll be fine…' _

As the black haired woman entered the main floor, she raised a brow as she found a crowd forming at the back doors. "What's going on?" she asked as she made her way through the crowd and stood beside Ben, Alicia, and Johnny.

"Looks like Reed's done thinking, for once," Johnny explained with a smile as Lily watched her father-like figure get down on one knee. Everyone cheered as they watched Susan accept the ring, the happiest look on her face. The two looked back at everyone and laughed as the nodded their heads. As the crowd began to disburse, the four stood in their place, happy looks on their faces.

"Hey." Johnny looked to his left as Ben leaned over to him. "No more wise cracks about the way I look," he said as Johnny smirked on the inside. Lily glanced up at The Human Torch and shook her head.

"Hey," Johnny started as he placed his arm around Ben's wide shoulders. "Call me Mr. Sensitivity," he said as Lily rolled her eyes. She crossed her eyes, counting down in her head.

"Alright then." Johnny began to make his way towards the doors, pushing past people. "WIDE LOAD COMIN' IN, EVERYBODY MOVE! HE'S HUGE!"

"There it is." Lily shook her head as she watched Ben stomp after Johnny. She chuckled as she stood next to Alicia.

"Want to find out what happens?" Lily asked with a smirk as Alicia laughed, nodding her head. Carefully guiding her outside, Lily and Alicia stood behind Ben as he gave Johnny an irritated look.

"Come here, Mr. Sensitive!" Ben snapped as Johnny laughed.

"Flame on!" Everyone watched as the man flew into the air, brightening the night sky. Ben tried not to chuckle as he shook his head.

"Show off!"

The newly engaged couple joined the group and the four smiled as they looked up at Johnny. Lily sighed as she chuckled, shaking her head.

"Well," Lily looked at her friends as a confident expression appeared. "Let the adventure begin."

**_Fin_**


End file.
